Staying Local
There are many reasons to purchase food from local farms:
- Locally grown food requires less energy because it does not have to be transported from far away. Consequently, it is cheaper and less polluting.
- Local food is also fresher and riper, because the time from picking to purchase is shorter - sometimes less than a day. This means we can enjoy many more varieties than the few that travel well and ripen slowly.
- Growing food locally makes us less vulnerable to the economic disturbances caused by natural disasters, diseases, pests, contamination, etc., because food production is shared between many areas.
- Local farmers have a stake in the economic and environmental health of their community. Large centralized corporations do not.
- Buying local keeps jobs and dollars close to home.