7 Reasons Why You Should Eat Locally Grown Food

We’re all guilty of this, we can’t seek to blame the big grocery stores, but lets face it, we love to pay less for fruits and veggies. All of the big stores offer fruit and veggies straight from South America. Nothing against South Americans but the truth is it most likely to at least a month for the products to get into the local store. Chances are it’s sprayed pretty heavily.

Even online stores are offering cheaper produce. Local farmers aren’t the people that are going to be marketing their products on the web, so most of you probably have don’t even know they exist.

Who knows the actual antioxidant levels in the fruit. I can say this, if you use a device that checks your antioxidant levels, like the one offered by Pharmanex – you’re not going to like the increase in antioxidants (carotenoids) in your blood once you have large chain store bought fruits and veggies, just a thought. Maybe it’s time to give up our cheap behaviors of buying cheap fruit at cheap large chains.

If you haven’t heard, there are some awesome benefits to buying from local farms. Hopefully this will persuade you to stop by the local farmers market, instead of your local Wal-Mart.

1. Local Food Is More Nutritious

Think about how long it takes for fruits and vegetables to get from faraway fields to your table. During transportation, produce loses the nutrients that make them so good for you in the first place. But if you eat locally, that means the food is fresher, which also means the nutrients are still intact. This way you can get your share of vitamins, nutrients, and antioxidants.

When produce is just picked from the farm, the potency is incredibly high, at its highest. This is maybe the most important feature on why you should pay more locally for your produce, this is where the oxygenation is the lowest, and these plants are healthy and offer their most value.

(Tweet This: Eating locally means the food is fresher and nutrients are still intact #fresh #foodie)

2. Local Food Is More Flavorful

Do you want the best tasting fruits and vegetables? Chances are you’ll find them if you buy locally. Fresher produce means more flavor since the food doesn’t have to be trucked in from a distant field. Locally grown food also depends on the season. While you could have strawberries any time of year from the supermarket, but if you only buy them when they’re in season locally, the flavor will be much stronger and better.

3. Local Food Is Greener

Greener food in this case means better for the environment. If farmers are paid for what they grow locally, they likely won’t sell some of their land for development, which preserves the landscape and green space. Getting food from local farms also cuts down on carbon emissions from big shipping trucks.

4. Local Food Is Better For The Local Economy

This reason should be pretty obvious. One study out of London shows that a dollar spent buying from a local farmer ends up generating twice that in the local economy. Money which stays in the community will in turn help the community in supporting local farm families.

5. Local Food Is Safer

A lot can happen to food that has to travel thousands of miles from the field to your plate. There’s always the possibility of contamination during the harvesting, washing, shipping, and distribution phases. Buying locally eliminates much of that risk. It also gives you the opportunity to ask the farmer directly how the food is grown.

6. Local Food Leads To More Variety

Large food companies tend to favor only certain types of fruits and vegetables for mass consumption. Those restrictions aren’t present if a farmer sells locally, allowing curious buyers to try foods they might not otherwise eat. This greater variety preserves genetic diversity as well since farmers don’t have to meet the specific demands of supermarkets and companies.

7. Local Food Unites Communities

What better way to get to know your neighbors and other members of the community than by interacting with them? Buying locally helps bring a community together. Building and reinforcing these relationships and connections can unite people who otherwise may have never mingled before.

The advantages to buying locally grown food are many, and they go beyond health and environmental reasons. Though it does require a little bit more effort and dedication, those who try it say the extra work is worth it.

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