Buy Local Food :)

door is made from pretty capiz shells and chair made from bamboo

My internet connections have been going haywire this week. So, not only my blogging is affected, but my other work(s) as well. Meanwhile I leave you this article as a food for thought.

Some notes from me:

• Buying local is not always organic. It just simply mean that the food source is near your area. But the local farmer might also be using fertilizers, pesticides, etc.
  

• Buying local does not also promise that the product or produce was not factory farmed. In this city, virtually, all our meats are factory farmed. We do not have any laws or government certified organic or free range labels - not that I am aware of.
  

We have to make informed decisions about our food choices. If we opt to eat fast-foods or resort to eating out often, be aware of the advantages and the disadvantages. If we opt for cooking our own organic and free-range food, be aware of the advantages and disadvantages. Most of the time, we make our decisions regarding food because of health or financial or maybe time constraints or food availability. Let us not be biased against people who are not eating local nor organic. Individual family needs and priorities are different. Let us just encourage one another, and support one another to cook and serve healthy food for our family.

Ten Reasons to Buy Local Food

Brenton Johnson, an organic farmer and owner of Johnson’s Backyard Garden, came up with this list of top 10 reasons to buy local food, based on his philosophy to live in harmony with the land.

1. Locally grown food tastes better. Food grown in your own community is usually picked within the past day or two. It’s crisp, sweet, and loaded with flavor. Produce flown or trucked in is much older. Several studies have shown that the average distance food travels from farm to plate is 1,500 miles.

2. Local produce is better for you. Fresh produce loses nutrients quickly. Locally grown food, purchased soon after harvest, retains its nutrients.

3. Local food preserves genetic diversity. In the modern industrial agricultural system, varieties are chosen for their ability to ripen simultaneously and withstand harvesting equipment. Only a handful of varieties of fruits and vegetables meet those rigorous demands, so there is little genetic diversity in the plants grown. Local farms, in contrast, grow a huge number of varieties to provide a long season of harvest, an array of eye-catching colors, and the best flavors.

4. Local food is GMO-free. Although biotechnology companies have been trying to commercialize genetically modified fruits and vegetables, they are currently licensing them only to large factory-style farms. Local farmers don’t have access to genetically modified seed, and most of them wouldn’t use it even if they could.

5. Local food supports local farm families. With fewer than 1 million Americans now listing farming as their primary occupation, farmers are a vanishing breed. Local farmers who sell direct to consumers cut out the middle man and get full retail price for their crops.

6. Local food builds a stronger community. When you buy direct from the farmer, you are re-establishing a time-honored connection between the eater and the grower.

7. Local food preserves open space. As the value of direct-marketed fruits and vegetables increases, selling farmland for development becomes less likely. The rural landscape will survive only as long as farms are financially viable.

8. Local food helps to keep your taxes in check. Farms contribute more in taxes than they require in services, whereas suburban development costs more than it generates in taxes.

9. Local food supports a clean environment and benefits wildlife. A well-managed family farm is a place where the resources of fertile soil and clean water are valued. Good stewards of the land grow cover crops to prevent erosion and replace nutrients used by their crops. Cover crops also capture carbon emissions and help combat global warming.

10. Local food is about the future. By supporting local farmers today, you can help ensure that there will be farms in your community tomorrow, so that future generations will have access to nourishing, flavorful, and abundant food.

Source: Green Right Now October 14, 2008