To piggyback off of my "Dirty Dozen" post, I would like to highlight the importance and deliciousness of getting your grown goods at your local farmer's market.
While it's important for our health to buy organic, it's important to our environment to eat locally when possible. For inclusion in most farmer's markets, food must be grown within 100 to 200 miles of where it's sold. As a result, farmer's markets cut down on greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution from fossil fuels burned to transport food over long distances. It also tends to cut down on the amount of packaging materials used for the fruits and veggies, supports your smaller, local farmers, and is generally cheaper to buy most products than the grocery store. It's a win-win for everyone.
The hitch is, not all farmer's markets guarantee organic produce, so it's important to do your research.
I'm looking forward to hitting up my first farmer's markets in NJ this weekend: Point Pleasant and Belmar. I had an amazing market in California within biking distance, where I stocked up on organic fruits, veggies, honey, hummus, tzatziki sauce, and grass fed bison (for the boy). I hold high standards, so I'm hoping the Garden State measures up!
Make sure you bring your reusable bags to tote your loot, and walk/bike ride to the market if you can!
Bonus Fact: In Iowa alone, non-local produce travels an estimated 1500 miles from farm to plate (versus the 56 miles for locally grown food). This translates to 4 times as much fuel and releasing 4 times as much greenhouse gases, according to a 2001 study by the Leopald Institute for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University. (Source: Do One Green Thing by Mindy Pennybacker...more on this excellent book later)
No comments:
Post a Comment