A Local Call

A February 2009 study in the Journal of HortScience reveals that, thanks to selective breeding and widespread use of chemical fertilizers, today’s fruits and vegetable may be larger, plumper and more appealing, but they also contain less nutrients and minerals. So, while crop yield has improved, resulting in more produce, the nutritional content has declined. This effect, known as dilution, is a result of poor soil management and the over-reliance of chemical fertilizers.

What can parents – and eaters in general – do to counter this? Well, choosing organically grown produce is one approach and we explored the benefits of this in last week’s story.

Another step to consider is to shun the produce offered at national super market chains and, instead, frequent your local farmer’s market for fresh produce when in season. Locally grown produce from the farmer’s market is fresher, has not spent as much time being transported and stored and will generally come from smaller producers that rely more on mother nature and less on chemical fertilizers. They are also more likely to offer heirloom varieties, rotate crops instead of planting large fields of mono-cultures, all of which is kinder on the soil. Finally, produce that is harvested during their regular season, rather than grown in greenhouses, will also tend to be more nutritious as well as tastier.

Top 10 Reasons to Buy From Local Sustainable Farms

1. LOCAL FOOD IS FRESHER AND TASTES BETTER
Food grown in Georgia by local farmers and offered at the market was probably picked within the past day or two. It's crisp, sweet and loaded with flavor. Studies show that the average distance food travels in our country from farm to plate is over 1,500 miles. In a week-long (or more) delay from harvest to dinner table, sugars turn to starches, plant cells shrink, and produce loses its vitality. This diminishes nutritional value and flavor.

2. BUYING LOCAL IS BETTER FOR YOU
A recent study showed that fresh produce loses nutrients quickly. Fruits and vegetables that are kept in cool storage and away from natural light will lose nutritional value even though it may not spoil. Hence, appearance can be deceiving. Also, commercial farmers get paid by yield (read=weight) and not by nutrients. Hence, most growers focus on the largest varieties, which rarely offer the highest nutritional density.

3. BUYING LOCAL SUPPORTS LOCAL FARMERS AND THE LOCAL ECONOMY
Money spent with small, independent local producers stays within your community and builds the tax and revenue base. By supporting farmers directly, they can buy more equipment and other items, further stimulating economic growth and local jobs. With fewer than 1 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. Local farmers who sell direct 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, doing the work they love. Everyone gains.

4. BUYING LOCAL REDUCES CARBON AND HELPS THE ENVIRONMENT
Locally produced food has a significantly lower carbon footprint since it doesn’t have to travel across the country (or the seas for that matter). Besides reducing fuel consumption and pollution, it also increases the share of the money that goes directly to the farmer who produced it, rather than the wholesale, broker, transport company and countless other middlemen.

5. BUYING LOCAL PRESERVES OPEN SPACE AND THE COUNTRYSIDE
As the value of direct-marketed fruits and vegetables increases, selling farmland for development becomes less likely. You have probably enjoyed driving out into the country and appreciated the lush fields of crops, the meadows full of wildflowers, the picturesque red barns. Also, with more local demand for a variety of produce, farmers rely less on large buyers, who may demand a huge supply of a single crop. This discourages monocultures that are bad for the soil, require chemical fertilization and the increased use of herbicides and pesticides. A diverse blend of crops, known as polycultures, allows farmers to practice crop rotation and results in more picturesque scenery, the colorful quilt of different fields we see in old pictures. That landscape will survive only as long as farms are financially viable. When you buy locally grown food, you are doing something proactive about preserving the agricultural landscape.

6. BUYING LOCAL PRESERVES GENETIC DIVERSITY
In the modern industrial agricultural system, varieties are chosen for their ability to ripen simultaneously and withstand harvesting equipment; for a tough skin that can survive packing and shipping; and for an ability to have a long shelf life in the store. Only a handful of hybrid varieties of each fruit and vegetable meet those rigorous 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. Many varieties are heirlooms, passed down from generation to generation, because they taste good. These old varieties contain genetic material from hundreds or even thousands of years of human selection; they may someday provide the genes needed to create varieties that will thrive in a changing climate.

7. BUYING LOCAL KEEPS GM CROPS OUT
Although biotechnology companies have been trying to commercialize genetically modified fruits and vegetables, they are currently licensing them only to large factory-style farms. Local farmers don't have access to genetically modified seed, and most of them wouldn't use it even if they could. A June 2001 survey by ABC News showed that 93% of Americans want labels on genetically modified food - most so that they can avoid it. If you are opposed to eating bioengineered food, you can rest assured that locally grown produce was bred as nature intended.

8. IT 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 studies. On average, for every $1 in revenue raised by residential development, governments must spend $1.17 on services, thus requiring higher taxes of all taxpayers. For each dollar of revenue raised by farm, forest, or open space, governments spend 34 cents on services.

9. BUYING LOCAL SUPPORTS A CLEAN ENVIRONMENT AND BENEFITS WILDLIFE
A well-managed family farm is a place where the resources of fertile soil and clean water are valued. Good stewards of the land grow cover crops to prevent erosion and replace nutrients used by their crops. Cover crops also capture carbon emissions and help combat global warming. According to some estimates, farmers who practice conservation tillage could sequester 12-14% of the carbon emitted by vehicles and industry. In addition, the patchwork of fields, meadows, woods, ponds and buildings - is the perfect environment for many beloved species of wildlife.

10. BUYING LOCAL INVESTS IN THE FUTURE OF OUR COMMUNITY
By supporting local farmers today, you can help ensure that there will be farms in your community tomorrow, and that future generations will have access to nourishing, flavorful, and abundant food. Farm work is hard and requires long hours, dedication and commitment, all things we reward in other lines of work. Why would we not do so for those neighbors that provide our daily nourishment?