Eat Locally
Farmer’s Markets not only provide tasteful food, but also have lower environmental impacts when compared to industrial farming.
The agricultural practices that back our food supply chain account for over twenty-five percent of all the carbon you produce in your lifetime. That's equivalent to over 300 tons of CO2 over an American's life! A direct approach to reducing your impact is to eat locally. By limiting the food you eat to local food sources, you can lessen the load of carbon you produce relating to food by at least 15 tons! Local dining does not have a definition set in stone. However, many consider it to be grown within one hundred miles, from a farmer's market, roadside stands, or small farms. The goal of local farms is to give consumers direct and healthy food instead of shipped by train, boat, truck, or plane halfway across the globe. Did you know the average tomato flies over fifteen hundred miles to get to your salad, equivalent to the distance from Boston to Miami? So what can you do?
Farmer's markets offer consumers a variety of fresh foods that come from local farmers. These farmers treat their animals with humane practices, grow food that requires less storage, and minimizes transportation. As stated in Beyond Factory Farming, "Sustainably-raised animals are treated humanely. They are permitted to carry out natural behaviors such as rooting in the dirt and pecking the ground." On the contrary, "industrial farm animals are crammed together in confined areas or cages without access to sunlight, fresh air, or open pasture." These practices regionally sourced food demands less energy than food coming from abroad and large corporations. According to the New York Times 19, "Refrigerants are the main use of our energy in the modern world." When large companies store food in refrigerants, it uses energy, burning more fossil fuels and polluting our Earth. Moreover, you get to learn about the grower and how crops are cultivated in their farms.
A frequent counter-argument to eating locally is that it is more costly and less convenient. While locally sourced food may bring a higher monthly grocery bill, this is in large part because farmers use quality ingredients over producing a large quantity of food. Corporations can sell at such a low price that local farmers can't match it without going bankrupt. Upfront, there is a steeper price tag. Still, local food provides benefits to our greater society in terms of its footprint on the environment and benefits to your health.
For instance, pesticides are hazardous in any way of use, yet still are used across the majority of our industrial food chain. Effects of "Long term pesticide exposure has been linked to the development of Parkinson's disease; asthma; depression and anxiety; attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); and cancer, including leukemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma," stated by the Pesticide Action Network UK. A pesticide is a substance used for destroying insects or other organisms harmful to cultivated plants or animals. To avoid these risks, consumers ought to choose a local way to get their food.
Every individual action and choice can make a difference and change the world for the better. Access to farmers' markets and fresh produce varies across neighborhoods and cities - but going out of your way to eat food from farms you can trust once a day, week, or month will considerably help the environment. Everyone's choices can carry the Earth one step towards a lighter, healthier, and better world no matter how minute they seem.