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Monday, 15 February 2010 17:02 |
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Over the past 6 months, I have been working on the WCTE project called Live Green and Prosper. I have met so many wonderful local farmers who use natural farming techniques to produce locally grown foods. I have joined the so called "good food movement," which emphasizes eating locally grown food and frequenting farmer’s markets and produce stands. I buy dried goods in bulk and cook almost everything I eat at home. The food we eat should taste good, be produced in a clean way that does not harm the environment, animal welfare, or our health, and food producers should receive fair compensation for their work. I recently came to the understanding that the farm industry is the only industry where the farmer buys raw product such as seed and fertilizer retail but sells the finished product at wholesale prices. A backward system, if you ask me.
Buying locally grown foods means fewer greenhouse gasses released by trucks and planes transporting food to market. While the items in the conventional supermarket travel an average of 1,500 miles from the ground to the grocery store shelf, those at the local farmer’s market come from nearby counties. I want what I want and I want it now is not a sustainable way to live.
By eating locally naturally grown foods from local farmers, you discourage farmers from using herbicides, pesticides and other toxins that pollute our food. Plus, you can help the environment by bringing your own reusable bag when you visit the market. Our habit of picking up a new supply of disposable plastic bags for every grocery store trip is particularly wasteful. In fact, every year more that 100 million tons of plastic are produced worldwide, but only about 25 percent of that gets recycled.
The planting season is upon us. To locate a Farmer’s Market, farm stand or CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) near you go to picktnprocucts.com or localtable.com.
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Ladybug McGreen's Blog 
