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The Joy of Eating, Local

Gradient Ocean

Terry Cullen

Feb 10, 2023

Global

Categories:

Food, Agriculture, Community, Climate Change, Food Waste, Food Insecurity, Sustainability

We have all heard about the importance of eating more local foods, but how many of us practice it? Apparently, a lot of people do. According to Statista.com, 42% of Americans between 50 and 64 prefer buying locally grown food and related products. In comparison, only 33% percent of people between 18 to 29 years old do so. Over 20% of all US consumers attest to eating local foods twice per week. Most people consider local food as grown, produced, or processed within 100 miles of their home.


Eating more local foods is something each of us can do to help fight climate change. The average fresh food item travels 1,500 miles to arrive on our dinner table, some coming from further away. Think of off-season fruit you purchased that came from another continent. Transporting that food to your market and your table represents a huge carbon footprint.


Most of us say we buy local foods because they are fresher, which means they usually taste better and have more nutrients. But did you know it can also cut down on food waste? The World Bank states that 30% of all food produced each year is wasted, and TheWorldCounts.com says that equates to 3.3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere annually. If food waste were a country, it would rank as the 3rd largest in CO2 emissions, after China and the United States. Considerable amounts of food waste result because it is damaged, deteriorated, and destroyed during shipping. Think of all the land that goes into agricultural production to produce 20 billion pounds of wasted food, and you begin to understand that buying local food can make a difference.


So what can you do to eat more local foods and make a difference in your community? Here are some suggestions for you:

1) Buy in-season produce. Need help determining what food is in season? Some quick online research can help you.

2) Check the food labels to see where your food comes from, and buy food produced closer to home. Many people think only of produce when purchasing locally. Go further and check where your non-perishable goods are coming from too. You will likely be surprised. A label search of apple juice turned up products containing apples from 6 countries and 3 continents.

3) What to make for dinner? Turn to the internet. For example, a search for “recipes with onions, carrots, potatoes and chicken” turned up “garlic-herb roasted chicken with onions, carrots, and potatoes” and many others. An exciting find was “the best one-pot Chinese chicken stew ever.”

4) Plan a progressive dinner with your friends, each dish featuring local ingredients. (With a progressive dinner, each participant prepares one dish that is part of an entire menu and serves it at home. Participants travel from home to home to eat each dish in the planned menu.)

5) Plan a community dinner. People are encouraged to contribute culturally-inspired dishes featuring local ingredients. Ask your local food markets to sponsor and publicize the event.

6) Support local farmer’s markets. Don’t have one. Ask your local government and community leaders to help organize and find space.

7) Explore Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in your area. What is a CSA? You purchase “shares” in a local farm. In exchange for the share purchase, you receive a box of produce at a specified frequency, such as weekly, throughout the growing season. It’s like getting a subscription for local produce.

8) Join, or create, a community garden. It’s great fun and such a community-building activity. Plus, you can swap produce with fellow gardeners and recipes too!

9) Get involved in “eat local” organizations, such as Slow Food USA. Check the internet for organizations in your country.

10) Pick your own. Highly perishable products, such as berries, can be picked in bulk, then frozen, canned, or dehydrated to last you year-round.


Make a few simple changes. Be conscious and intentional about your choices. It can make a big difference to your health, community, and planet.


Photo by Earl Wilcox on Unsplash.

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Catalog #:

0223.100.02.021023

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