There are a lot of reasons to eat local! I’ll try to stick to the main points and not go off on crazy tangents.
1. It tastes better. I list this first because, well, food is supposed to taste good. And by tasting good, I mean naturally good. Good because it was ripened on the vine or tree, it was delivered to you just after maturity, it was raised as best as possible, not because it was loaded with artificial flavors and MSG.
2. It supports your local economy instead of big agribusiness. Why does this matter? Well that I could go on and on about but I’ll try to keep it short for now! I’m sure I’ll go on about some more of this at other times. Most of your food, even those Boca burgers and other more ‘earthy’ types of foods are owned by a small number of food companies that make up almost all of the food available out there, use genetically modified crops and processed ingredients, and shut out smaller businesses including farms. Eating local supports local, sustainable agriculture and your local economy, and encourages diversity in our food supply.
3. Its environmental, not just because of the more sustainable methods of farming, but because food isn’t trucked across the country, or even the world, to get to you. It comes to you from a matter of minutes or hours away, greatly reducing your carbon footprint.
4. Its fun! Eating locally helps give me direction for planning what I eat. I don't wander about a store buying mass marketed foods with nominal taste. As much as possible I buy direct from farmers and producers. I buy from small store owners. I enjoy chatting with 'my bread guy' and love that he'll sell me half, even quarter loaves. I love knowing that my soup guy gets his tomatoes from my favorite tomato lady. Its fun knowing who makes your food, and throughout this blog I hope to spotlight some of the people who produce what I eat.
