With the fast approaching green revolution, people are re-evaluating all aspects of their lives to incorporate environmentally friendly practices in their daily rituals. Going green is no longer just a trend but is now becoming a long term lifestyle.

There are many simple things that can be done to achieve a sustainable household. One thing we all must do is eat, and even something like eating that we do several times a day can be made green. No, we’re not talking about your veggies, we’re talking about the green practice of eating locally grown foods. The common misconception about eating local is the confusion with the word “organic”. People often associate organic food as being very healthy but very expensive. In reality though, locally grown food can be rather affordable. Locally grown food, in the simplest of terms, means food that is grown closest to your home. You can support this movement by purchasing food from your local farmer markets and stands.

As farmer markets and localized food become more and more popular, the cheaper locally grown food will surely become. The farmers will have more money to produce larger and more diverse crops. “The crop diversity reduces dependence on expensive agrochemicals and other inputs, and provides resilience against major pest outbreaks or climatic shifts. And when farmers produce for local (as opposed to export) markets, their customer base diversifies considerably, encouraging them to plant a wider range of crops” (Halweil, 2004) Diversity of crops means a wider selection and colorful food that will draw in a larger crowd and encourage the purchase of naturally farmed food.

There are several steps you can take for consuming locally grown food. Ask the producer you’re buying from where your food is grown, what methods were used to grow your food, who is growing your food, and the travel life of your food. Did you know on average most food that you will find in your local grocery store has traveled over 1,500 miles from the place it is grown to your dinner plate? Not only does that require a significant amount of additives and preservatives to be put into your food in order to withstand the distance but it adds to the dependence of fossil fuels which leads to a large emission out put that contributes to climate change.

Also, did you know that half of the United States of America’s food system consists of ten multinational food and beverage companies lead by roughly one hundred and forty members (one hundred and seventeen men and twenty one women) of the director board? (Halweil, 2004) The corporate majority dominates half of our food system and packs the grocery stores full of highly similar, genetically modified and processed brands rather than a variety of true colorful agricultural food. This is not the food you want to be setting on the dinner table for you and your family to consume.

Nor do you want to see your money go into the pockets of large corporations consisting of a few hundred people. Localizing your spending habits to food grown near your home supports a strong local economy. On average buying directly from a farmer means that 90% of your food dollars will go back to the farm which helps them strengthen their business and home. On the other end of the spectrum Americans consume more than $600 billion in food annually. In most communities today food is purchased entirely at a grocery store or market, with only about 7% of local food dollars staying in the community. While the other 93% of the modern food dollar travels to pay processors, packagers, distributors, wholesalers, truckers and the rest of the infrastructure that a global food system demands, a stark comparison to 40% in 1910 by contrast, 40% of food dollars spent remained in the local economy. When more food dollars stay in the community, through buying local, they are transformed into thriving main streets and local jobs. (Sustainable Table, 2009)

Basically eating locally cuts out the middle men and provides a strong and stable economy. So my question to you is: why not eat locally grown food? The benefits are endless not only will we have healthy bodies but a healthy and intimate local economy that is controlled by the local public. “No one will care about your town if you don’t, certainly not developers, chain-store corporations or state government. You don’t need a lot of money to start. Start small and be relentless - but polite. People will recognize quality and beauty, and we all have a primal need to belong, to be a local.” (Slotnick, 2004)

Here’s a few websites you can look at for more ideas and information on eating locally grown food:

http://www.sustainabletable.org/home.php

http://100milediet.org/why-eat-local

http://www.farmfresh.org/

http://buylocalfood.org/page.php?id=52

Halweil, Brian. Eat Here. Boston: W. W. Norton & Company, Incorporated, 2004.

Slotnick, Josh. 2004. Build it and they will come, and eat: The short story of Missoula’s food system. Staying Home: Reflections on food, farming, and place, edited by Kristi Johnson. Missoula, MT: Garden City Harvest.

Sustainable Table. 2009. Eat Local, Buy Loca,l Be Local. http://www.sustainabletable.org/issues/whybuylocal/#econ

Written by:: Brooke Davison