From the Northern Iowa University Food Project:
| BIOLOGICAL Freshness and taste- Locally-grown fruits and vegetables are usually harvested within 24 hours of being purchased. Produce picked and eaten at the height of ripeness tastes better. Imported produce from distant places can’t be that fresh and is often treated with preservatives to endure a long haul and storage.Variety- Farmers markets can offer produce varieties bred for taste and beauty rather than for shipping and long shelf life.ECONOMIC Regional economic vitality- If residents of Black Hawk County spent $10 (of their total grocery dollars) every week on locally grown food, that would amount to $2 million every month invested in local people, local farms, and independent local businesses. Bingo! POLITICAL Food safety- After reading the New York Times bestseller Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal, or seeing the PBS FRONTLINE report on “Modern Meat,” you will realize that food from a global supermarket (dominated by a few corporate giants with considerable influence on governments) is troublesome, and that strengthening local food connections is a practical necessity. Energy conservation- An average food item travels nearly 1,600 miles before reaching our table here in the Midwest. In contrast, fruit and vegetables sold at the Cedar Falls Farmers Market have traveled 15 miles or so at the most. Buying locally significantly reduces the energy used in packaging, shipping, distributing and retailing. ETHICAL ~~ |
[...] Alanna Kaufman wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptRegional economic vitality- If residents of Black Hawk County spent $10 (of their total grocery dollars) every week on locally grown food, that would amount to $2 million every month invested in local people, local farms, … [...]