THE BENEFITS OF BUYING LOCALLY GROWN FOODS
Living in a climate such as ours in Wisconsin, some locally grown products can only be purchased when they are in season. Today, with the ability to ship foods from all over the world within days we are able to have items like fresh grapes in January. Having a variety of foods available all year long is one of the reasons we live longer and healthier lives.
Giving up the variety and choices we have today would be taking a step backwards so to speak, but when the choice is available, locally grown foods should definitely be considered.
TOP REASONS TO BUY LOCAL GROWN
Tastes Better
Local community grown food was most likely picked within the past 24 hours. It’s loaded with flavor, crisp and sweet unlike the produce that is flown or trucked in which naturally is much older. Several studies have shown us that the longer food takes to get to your table (average distance is 1,500 miles) the more the sugars turn into starches and it looses vitality as the plant cells shrink.
Better For You
Fresh produce looses nutrients quickly and the truth is that foods frozen or canned quickly after harvesting are actually more nutritious than some of the “fresh” produce that has been on a truck for a week. Since local items are purchased soon after harvest, locally grown food retains it nutrients.
GMO Free
For now, biotechnology companies are currently licensing genetically modified fruits and vegetables only to large factory-style farms leaving local farmers without access to genetically modified seed. Most of them wouldn’t use it even if they could. If you are against buying and eating bio-engineered food, rest assured that your locally grown produce was bred as nature intended, the old fashioned way.
Supports Local Farms
Each year we have witnessed family farms as a vanishing breed. Today, commodity prices are often below the cost of production leaving local farmers getting less than 10 cents on the retailer food dollar. When local farmers sell direct to consumers they are able to cut out the middle man and get full retail prices for their food. This means more families can afford to stay on the farm, doing what they love.
Preserves Genetic Diversity
Local farms grow large varieties to provide a long season of harvest in an array of colors and choose the best flavors. Many are heirlooms passed on from generation to generation, mainly because they just taste good. These older varieties contain genetic material from years and years of human selection and they may someday provide us with the genes needed to create varieties that can thrive in a changing climate.
Whereas in today’s industrial agriculture system, varieties are mainly chosen for things like their ability to ripen simultaneously and withstand harvesting equipment. They look for a tough skin that can survive shipping and packing, and an ability to have a long shelf life. Only a handful of hybrid vegetables and fruits meet these demands so there is little genetic diversity in these plants.
Environment And Wildlife
On a well-managed family farm the resources of fertile soil and clean water are truly valued. They grow cover crops to prevent erosion of the and to replace nutrients used by the crops. These cover crops also help control global warming and capture carbon emissions. Additionally, these fields, meadows, ponds, woods and buildings are the perfect environment for many types of wildlife.
Preserve Open Space
The more we begin to value direct marketed fruits and vegetables the less likely the selling farmland for development becomes. Think of how you enjoy driving out into the country appreciating the lush green fields, meadows and the picturesque farms. When you choose to buy locally grown food you are choosing to preserve this landscape.
Tax Base
According to several studies, farms contribute more in taxes than they require in services while urban development costs more than it generates in taxes.
Our Future
By supporting local farmers you help ensure that tomorrow there will still be farms in your community for future generations to have access to abundant, flavorful and nourishing choices of food.
Interested in more information? Click to view Michigan State University Extension article, “7 Benefits of Eating Local”.
Thank you to Good Earth Food Alliance for information for this article.
At Viking we believe in locally grown! We have our own BP Farms right here in Sauk County providing field fresh super-sweet bi-colored sweet corn, pumpkins & black oil sunflower birdseed!
