WHY BUY LOCAL?
(adapted from:
“Growing For
Market”, 2001)
1. Locally
grown food tastes better.
Food
grown in your own community was
probably picked within the past day
or two. It’s crisp, sweet and loaded
with flavor. Produce flown or
trucked in from California, Florida,
or overseas, is much older.
2.
Local
produce is better for you
Fresh
produce loses nutrients quickly.
Food that is frozen or canned soon
after harvest is actually more
nutritious than some “fresh” produce
that has been on the truck or
supermarket shelf for a week.
Locally grown food, eaten soon after
harvest, retains its nutrients.
3. Local
food preserves genetic diversity
In the
modern industrial agricultural
system, varieties are chosen to
ripen simultaneously and withstand
harvesting equipment; for a tough
skin that can survive packing and
shipping, and for long shelf life in
the store. Only a handful of hybrid
fruit and vegetable varieties meet
those 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 supports local farm families
With
fewer than 2 million Americans now
claiming farming as their primary
occupation, farmers are a vanishing
breed. And no wonder - commodity
prices are at historic lows, often
below the cost of production. The
farmer now gets less than 10 cents
of the retail food dollar.
5. Local
food builds community
When you
buy direct from the farmer, you are
re-establishing a time-honored
connection between the eater and the
grower. Knowing the farmers gives
you insight into the seasons, the
weather, and the miracle of raising
food.
6.
Local
food preserves the rural character
and open space
As the
value of direct-marketed fruits and
vegetable increases, selling
farmland for development becomes
less likely. Picturesque barns, lush
fields of crops, and meadows full of
wildflowers will survive only as
long as farms are financially
viable.
If every
household in Southern Maryland spent
just $8.00 on locally grown farm
products for 12 weeks, $54 million
could be invested back into our
neighboring farms and economy.
When you
buy from local farmers, you help to
keep the Chesapeake farm region
vibrant!
