10 Reasons to Buy Locally Grown Food

This list of reasons to shop locally is from the 2006-2007 West Michigan Guide to Local Food.

1. Locally-grown, freshly-picked food tastes better.
Studies have shown that the average distance food travels from farm to plate is 1,500 miles, losing vitality and flavor as time passes.

2. Local produce tends to have more nutritional value.
The longer the time from harvesting produce to eating it, the greater the trend for sugars to turn into starches, plant cells to shrink, and nutrients to be diminished.

3. Buying local spurs economic growth.
Economists use the term “multiplier theory” to indicate that if you spend a dollar locally, it circulates locally, positively impacting 3-7 different local businesses before it leaves the area. Obviously that same dollar spent at a national or multi-national chain has very little positive impact on the local economy.

4. Local food preserves diversity.
In the modern industrial agricultural system, varieties are chosen primarily for qualities that create long shelf life in a store. Local farms selling directly to you tend to grow and raise many more varieties of vegetables, fruits, and animals - with the result that they are able to extend the growing season, satisfy many different customers, and bring back flavors and a heritage threatened with being lost forever.

5. You know the farmer and can find out easily how the food was raised.
Local growers provide what you want your families to eat. You can find out about their farming practices, for example, if you are looking for natural/organic growing methods or humane treatment of animals.

6. Local food supports local farm families.
Local farmers (who typically get only about ten cents of every dollar spent on food) selling directly to consumers cut out the middleman and get full retail price for their food - which means farm families can afford to stay on the farm, producing food for our future.

7. Local food builds community.
Knowing the farms and the land they’re on gives you insight into the seasons, the weather, and the miracle of raising food. Often, local buying gives you access to a farm where you and your children and grandchildren can share the experience of learning about nature and agriculture.

8. Local food preserves open space.
The many benefits of open space provided by farms will last as long as farmers can afford to stay on the land. When you buy local food, you are doing something proactive to preserve the agricultural landscape.

9. Local food keeps your taxes in check.
Farms contribute more in taxes than they require in services, whereas suburban development costs more than it generates in taxes, according to several Michigan and national studies.

10. Local food tends to be free of genetically engineered seed.
Surveys show time and time again that many American consumers do not trust genetically modified foods. Family farmers generally agree, and when direct-marketing have an incentive to avoid GE seed.

Spending just $10/week on local food would keep over $37 million circulating within Michigan

These reasons are adapted in part from 2001 Growing for Market

Books (National)

An exhaustive list of eco-books would be virtually unlimited, considering the areas of sustainable living, climate change, food production, energy production, species extinction, environmental degradation, pollution, economics and so many others. These are just a few titles to wet your appetite:

General

• Deep Economy (McKibben, 2008)
  
• Eco-Economy (Brown, 2001)
• Plan B 4.0 (Brown 2009)
  
• Get Satisfied (Holst, ed., 2007)
  
• Diet for a Small Planet (Lappe, 1991)
  
• The Food Revolution (Robbins, 2010)
  
• The Art of the Commonplace (Berry, 2003)
  
• Go Green, Save Green (N. Sleeth, 2009)
• Environmental Literacy Council List
• The Reviewer's List
• Rachel Carson Homestead List
  
• Environmental Science & Biology List
  
• Wikipedia List
• Amazon.com Sustainable Living List

Religious

• The Green Bible (2008)
  
• Come to the Quiet (Hohnberger, 2004)
  
• Escape to God (Hohnberger, 2001)
  
• Serve God, Save the Planet (Sleeth, 2007)
• The Gospel According to the Earth (Sleeth, 2010)
• For the Beauty of the Earth, 2nd ed. (Bouma-Prediger, 2010)
• Creation and the Environment: An Anabaptist Perspective on a Sustainable World (Redekop, 2000)
  
• Saving God's Green Earth (Robinson, 2006)
• Green Revolution (Lowe, 2009)
• A Rocha's List
  
• Blessed Earth's List
  
• Flourish Magazine's List
  
• Restoring Eden's List
  

Sustainable Living Plan -- A Process Approach

A couple years ago, a friend and I were talking about how the process of moving from our current lifestyles to more sustainable ways of living was at times confusing and overwhelming.

That conversation led me to breakdown the process into this 5-stage plan that considers (a) food & drink, (b) clothing, (c) transportation, (d) waste, (e) energy, (f) special time and (g) education at each phase. This is not meant to be exhaustive or comprehensive, but merely a starter list for thought and action.

My own understanding of sustainable living is still developing; this post is bound to change as I learn more. While neither complete nor without contradictions, here is my biased breakdown. Just so you know, I have not done or do not consistently live every item on the list. I'm on the journey too.

There are a number of Christian books and websites included. If that's not your thing, I hope you'll just skip over them and still find good in the rest of the list.

What additions or changes do you recommend for the plan?

STAGE 1
A. Food & Drink:
-- Eat more fruits, vegetables and nuts.
-- Eat less fast food.
-- Filter your water.
B. Clothing:
-- Empty the closet of clothes you haven’t worn in the past year.
-- Give clothes to Goodwill or the Salvation Army.
C. Transportation:
-- Plan ahead for smart car use. For example, use one drive for multiple errands rather than taking several trips in the car.
D. Waste:
-- Recycle whatever is possible.
E. Energy:
-- Turn off the lights when you leave the room.
-- Use energy efficient light bulbs.
F. Special Time:
-- Spend time with spouse or significant other.
G. Education:
-- Read Green Living (E Magazine) & Serve God, Save the Planet (Matthew Sleeth, M.D.).
-- Visit Grist & A Rocha.
-- Watch An Inconvenient Truth, In Debt We Trust & Trashed.

STAGE 2
A. Food & Drink:
-- Eat fewer processed and artificial foods (junk food).
-- Drink more water and unsweetened fruit juices.
-- Cut out most soft drinks and sweetened drinks.
-- Consume less sugar.
B. Clothing:
-- Only buy clothes you need.
C. Transportation:
-- Carpool to work whenever possible.
-- Make sure your tires are fully inflated.
D. Waste:
-- Buy products with minimal packaging.
E. Energy:
-- Turn down the water heater one notch, and insulate it.
-- Turn down the heat or air conditioner one notch.
F. Special Time:
-- Make time for your family.
G. Education:
-- Read Reason for Hope (Jane Goodall), Let My People Go Surfing (Yvon Chouinard), For the Beauty of the Earth (Steven Bouma-Prediger).
-- Visit Tree Hugger & Creation Care.
-- Watch Energy Crossroads, Super Size Me & A Convenient Truth.

STAGE 3
A. Food & Drink:
-- Eat good oil/fat.
-- Get plenty of protein (beans, nuts, soy products, chicken, fish, etc.).
-- Use sea salt.
-- Buy locally grown produce in stores or farmers’ markets when possible.
B. Clothing:
-- Buy clothes from thrift shops or secondhand stores.
-- Look for clothes made of organic cotton.
C. Transportation:
-- Ride the bus or subway to work once a week or more.
-- Use gas supplemented with ethanol or use other biofuels like these. (At the time I first wrote this, ethanol was all the rage. Now time has shown that using corn for fuel and plastics has driven up the price of corn, putting extra pressure on the poor around the world in the form of higher food prices. This demonstrates the intricacies and dangers of unintended consequences.)
D. Waste:
-- Compost your food waste.
-- Reuse plastic grocery bags or use cotton bags that can be used repeatedly.
E. Energy:
-- Buy a hybrid vehicle. Use it as little as possible. While hybrids aren't the final answer for transport, they do tell manufacturers that there is a market for green technology, which should encourage them to invest more in this area.
-- Put electronic equipment on a power supply that can be switched off to stop phantom power usage.
-- Use fewer electrical gadgets.
F. Special Time:
-- Spend some time in meditation/prayer.
G. Education:
-- Read Saving God's Green Earth (Tri Robinson & Jason Chatraw), Natural Capitalism (Paul Hawken) & Culture Jam (Kalle Lasn).
-- Visit Earth 911 & Lighter Footstep.
-- Watch A Crude Awakening, Food Inc, & The Future of Food.

STAGE 4
A. Food & Drink:
-- Join a co-op in your community.
-- Buy organic, non-GMO foods whenever possible. Also, only buy free-range meat.
-- Take a complete, food-based vitamin/mineral supplement.
-- Consider becoming a vegetarian.
B. Clothing:
-- Buy clothes that are not made in sweatshops.
-- Learn about community conscious producers.
C. Transportation:
-- Try to use your bike for uses other than exercise.
D. Waste:
-- Use a library so fewer trees have to be cut for paper.
E. Energy:
-- Improve the insulation in your house.
-- Purchase wind energy or other green energy from your electric utility.
F. Special Time:
-- Volunteer.
G. Education:
-- Read The Care of Creation (Editor: R. J. Berry), Beyond Growth (Herman Daly) & Design Anarchy (Kalle Lasn).
-- Visit Restoring Eden & Earth Easy.
-- Watch Empty Oceans, Empty Nets, The Power of Community & Hempsters.

STAGE 5
A. Food & Drink:
-- Reduce the use of stimulants such as caffeine and alcohol.
-- Become a member of a CSA (community supported agriculture).
-- Start your own organic garden.
-- Eat more raw food.
-- Consider becoming a vegan.
B. Clothing:
-- Buy clothes made from organic hemp.
-- Only buy fair trade certified clothes.
-- Sew your own clothes.
C. Transportation:
-- Convert a diesel car to run on biodiesel.
-- Use bikes and feet as much as possible.
-- Look for work closer to home.
D. Waste:
-- Share as much as possible with neighbors so you can buy less. The more we buy, the more waste we produce.
-- Use a co-op to avoid buying plastic containers. Many co-ops allow you to refill shampoo bottles, peanut butter jars, spice racks, non-chemical cleaners, etc.
E. Energy:
-- Build or install a small wind generator.
-- Switch to solar power and solar water heating.
-- Become an activist for renewable energy production.
F. Special Time:
-- Go for walks in nature with friends and family.
-- Become an activist and share what you’ve learned.
G. Education:
-- Read Creation and the Environment (Calvin Redekop), Redeeming Creation (Fred Van Dyke, David C. Mahan, Joseph K. Sheldon & Raymond H. Brand), Plan B 4.0 (Lester Brown), Eco-Economy (Lester Brown) & Cradle to Cradle (McDonough & Braungart).
-- Visit Co-op America & Eco Sherpa.
-- Watch Earthlings, How to Save the World & The End of Suburbia.
-- Spend extra time educating yourself by reading books (at the library), blogs and websites.

BONUS: Stage 6 -- Become Amish.

And always search for ways to reduce, reuse, recycle and rot.

Magazines (National)

• Adbusters
• E
• Home Power
• Mother Earth News
• Mother Jones
  
• Natural Life
• Orion
• Plenty
• Utne Reader
• Yes!

Podcasts (National)

• America the Green
• Freshly Green
• Green Talk Radio
• Living Green
• Living on Earth
• More Hip Than Hippie
• The EnvironMinute

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