For the sake of the world, one should focus on their specific region. When considering from where to purchase food, one must make the decision between local and imported. Most people take the easy way out and go for imported foods; however, if they care for the good of the whole, they should join the movement for locally-produced foods.
Yes, eating imported foods certainly has some advantages. Although some argue that eating regional treats is good for a treat every once in a while (Richler), it is not worth the harm that it does to the Earth. Because the items come from all over the world, there is a substantially larger surplus of them. Bananas from Africa, oranges from Florida, and wine from France, it makes sense to buy from foreign places. As the Earth is made up of many different climates, a large variety of food can be grossed, and in superfluous quantities. Due to the mass amounts of any type of food imaginable, the prices shoot down, making these imported foods a tempting choice. Although it can be difficult often to buy the more expensive item, which is virtually identical to its foreign counterpart, it is crucial for health of the United States.
To eat local is to support the wellbeing of the world’s environment. When one purchases locally-produced food, he surpasses many extraneous processes of and additions to food. Foods that are exported are often made on massive crops that produce many more plants than they naturally should be able to. For the most part, the “farmers” of these crops are machines. The massive crops are made possible with chemicals. Pesticides that kill off bugs and chemicals to promote a more speedy growth are fed to the plants in order to make a larger profit. These chemicals harm animals near the crops, such as the indigenous creatures that die because they cannot adapt to the unknown chemicals. On top of the destruction of animals in close proximity to the crop, the humans that consume the food later on down the line can also be affected by a large intake of chemicals.
Indubitably, plants that travel a long distance to get to the dinner table must be transported. From the first tractor that plucks the plants from the ground to the truck that travels cross-country to the car that carries from the supermarket to home, a single plant can use a great deal of energy, and therefore fossil fuels. William Calvin, a professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine, recognizes this disadvantage of imported foods, as he concurs with the extreme importance of eating locally. The carbon emission from a food item does not have to be this immense. Local food is usually planted on a small-scale farm, as compared to imported food. A tractor becomes less of a necessity as the size of the farm decreases. Also, the commute from the farm to the market to the dinner table is much shorter, which means less fuel is used for transportation.
Another green aspect of local eating is the smaller chance of chemical ingestion. When a large enterprise grows an unnaturally massive crop, it is compelled to use unnatural fertilizers in order to make a profit. This option is not quite as tempting with a locally grown crop. The crop is normally a size that can be grown naturally more manageably. Also, due to the small commute of the plants, locally grown items do not require preservative chemicals to the extent that imported items do.
These chemicals are not only unhealthy for the humans consuming the plants, but also for the environment in contact with the polluted crop. The purpose of many chemicals is ultimately to kill all bugs that might possibly harm or damage the crop by poisoning them to death. Poison is poison, even if it is not intended for all the other creatures innocently surrounding the crop. For example, if a bird sees the dead bugs, it might eat the bugs, therefore contaminating its own body. Or, if the crop is near a body of water, which it so often is, the chemicals could run into the water and be taken farther away affecting more than just the immediate areas around the crop. The chemicals can kill other harmless animals, such as the bird, and begin the destruction of an ecosystem. The pollutants could ultimately kill off entire species in this way. For this reason, local care more beneficial than crops from other region around the country, and often around the world.
More often than not, local foods are not processed. The foods are usually comprised of fruits and vegetables off the vine or meat that has not been tampered with too much. “By eating a bit more locally, I spend less money on packaged foods and impulse items,” admits Brechka. While restricting oneself to locally grown food, the options to binge on a chocolate bar or a bag of Cheetos become scarce. Local eating encourages one to eat foods that are natural, with a minimum amount of processing.
To eat locally is to support one’s neighbors. In order to maintain a prosperous economy, the people of a region must support the others in the region. By buying local rather than foreign, one is helping himself. The best economy and society has people who work together. It is important to keep the money in one’s region to preserve the society’s wealth and endanger its poverty.
Purchasing locally can also contribute to one’s social life. When one goes to a supermarket to buy food, they pick items out of a bin. Each item has a small number label with a bar code. On the contrary, oftentimes when one buys locally, he comes face-to-face with the item’s producer. He is forced to have a conversation with the salesman, and the item he buys is usually an amount to the dollar (none of the $.99 deal) with no scanning required. The personal interaction is just enough to put a smile on a purchaser’s face before he even gets to the real delight.
It may be hard to drop all interest in foreign food items instantly. This is understandable; however, when balancing the negatives with the positives, local eating is truly the prevalent choice. Bendrick recommends replacing one item in your diet with a local one, such as apples, in order to ease into the difficult transition.
Next time you start getting a craving for a tomato, look around town before resorting to the dreadful, destructive, and depriving foods from other regions.
