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Why Buy Local?
It seems there is a "Buy Local' trend thriving. So much so that there is even a term coined for local eaters - Locavores. But is there more to it than just the "feel good" factor?
Yes, yes there is!
Economics
Researchers are continuing to find that money spent locally, stays local. This may seem like a no-brainer, but it's really incredible to see a thriving community full of local businesses. The money can be put to use in the community for the people who live and visit there rather than buying from a large chain store and seeing the money distributed somewhere is to a huge corporation.
It's also less expensive to purchase locally than, organic in the grocery store.
Uniqueness
When you buy local, you are keeping your community the unique and beautiful place you love! You are also making it a nice place to visit. Imagine your town without your local businesses. It's not a pretty picture is it?
Nutrition
Food that is purchased locally has travelled less, therefore it's fresher and has retained more of it's nutrients. The average grocery store produced was picked about a week before you bought it. Also because of its need to last longer, conventional grocery store produce often is coated with waxes or soaked in other chemicals to keep it looking "fresher" longer.
Environmental Consciousness
Think about all those trucks driving all that food thousand of miles to reach your grocery store. Wow, right? The food industry is the #1 carbon producer in the country.
And then think about all those pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers, and meat industry runoff. it all leaches into the ground water, finds rivers and streams, and then it's out into the ocean. There it creates dead zones and low oxygen content, therefore having a GLOBAL effect. The spraying of pesticides are also effecting the air quality of everyone around the planet. Your local farmer is far less likely to use commercial products such as synthetic fertilizers. And with your local farmer, you can know exactly what's happening to your food.
Biodiversity
Nature is diverse for reasons. The system works perfectly all on it's own. There is no need for chemicals or human involvement. By growing produce using permaculture and biodiversity, the farmer creates an ecosystem. Monocultures are dangerous. The vulnerability to being wiped out buy a single insect population or being choked out by a specific weed creates the need for more and more chemical applications. Nature evolves so quickly that the more pesticides used, the more are needed as super weeds and insects are evolving. As commercial agriculture battles nature, nature fights back.