Buy This, Not That: put your green where it counts!
Buy This
- Supports local farmers in your community which also helps farms remain standing.
- Costs less because seasonal fruit is more abundant and the growers don’t need to cover long shipping distances in the price.
- Creates 17 times fewer carbon emissions that fruit purchased at the supermarket.
- More nutritious because it’s not harvested early to endure long shipping distances.
Not That
- Sometimes travels long distances to get to you, so it’s not as fresh and hence healthy or tasty.
- This travel also creates pollution that sometimes outweighs the positive environmental effects of organic farming.
Personally Speaking
I love shopping our local farmer’s market and supporting CSAs — that is, community supported agriculture groups that give you a weekly produce box of all their seasonal goodies. At farmer’s markets, you’ll find in-season fruit that’s often just a day or two off the farm. Plus, a lot of it is organically farmed, but smaller farmers sometimes don’t have the funds to go for official certification. Just ask the folks at the farm stand about how they grow it… if they can’t tell you, move on to the next one, and you are sure to find a grower you love.
Another thing I do is pick up a weekly bouquet of flowers at the farmer’s market. So much better than buying hot-house flowers that are doused in chems and shipped long distances. You can sometimes find bunches for just $5. What a nice little way to reward yourself for doing the right thing – that doesn’t include chocolate calories or carbon.
Inspired? Find a farmer’s market near you.
CHIME IN! Got any inspiration to share about eating locally, maybe even out of your own backyard? Share away, or ask any questions of moi and I’ll be sure to get you an answer.
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