WHY EATING LOCALLY MATTERS NOW MORE THAN EVER
We’ve all been hearing for a long time now how “local” is better. Slogans such as “Buy Local,” “Eat Local,” “Shop Local,” “Spend Local,” “Stay Local.” There’s a slow growth of more localized habits developing in our culture, in our communities. And there’s plenty of good reasons for doing so. I will elaborate here on eight key points.
FIRST, staying local is a smart way to save time. We all know how precious time is.
Who wants to spend their free time traveling around to doing basic errands? If you’re a 9 to 5-er, weekends yield a lot of errand-doing. Wouldn’t you prefer spending that time on a hobby instead?
If you could do those tasks in 1/3 the time, why wouldn’t you? Stick to the local bank (do what you can online), the local hardware store, the local gas station even if it costs a few cents more per gallon, you can’t put a price on your time (oh, and not to mention the fuel your car will use to drive farther away to save a buck or two on filling up your tank somewhere else).
SECOND, staying local a serious way to strengthen your local economy
If you take the time to follow a dollar, you will learn that of every dollar spent locally, 70 cents stays locally.
During the heart of the pandemic, when folks found the grocery store shelves empty, more money was spent at local farms where food was available. The money spent by customers was the money that kept local farmers afloat.
In turn, those farmers went and spent some of this money, thereby circulating their earnings to other local businesses to pay expenses and buy products needed, and to pay workers for their labor. This money is what kept the lights on during a world-wide pandemic.
The rumor is true. Farmers really don’t get off the farm a whole lot, and their earnings are spent mostly locally. This holds true more than any another profession.
So, the consumer’s dollars spent at the farm stand went to the farm family who then pays the farm help, the local hardware store for supplies, the local gas station for diesel fuel to run the tractor, the local bank to deposit earnings, the local garden center for seeds, the local restaurant on one of those insanely busy days that never ended to feed everyone who dedicated themselves to working late, and couldn’t stop to make dinner.
And all of those local businesses that were supported by those locally spent farm stand dollars, help to employ local people whose families are also supported when those dollars are spent right here in the community.
And if each region with its local farmers and local businesses continues to receive this kind of support, beyond the COVID-19 crisis of 2020, then new businesses will launch, more rural entrepreneurship will develop, and young people will step up to become the next generation of farmers.
Yes, if we all support local, we are guaranteeing stability in an otherwise unstable world. Why? Because we are proving that a strong local economy can be built by the people of the community. That it is a viable and worthy endeavor where everyone wins.
There is room for all of us when local support is actively happening by more than a tiny percentage of the population. We must invest in what we believe in. It starts with our dollars.
In this way, we can truly build an “EVERYTHING YOU NEED IS HERE” economy.
With a locally-focused economy in place, we will stay much stronger, even in a world-wide pandemic. Our basic needs will be met. Our community will work together to stay intact. We won’t be reliant on a faltering global supply chain to feed us.
We will have already broken down that chain and eliminated the need for food transportation over hundreds and thousands of miles. There won’t be a need for long-distance processing plants, packaging plants, distribution centers, where perhaps hundreds of hands have touched your food before it arrives at your table.
Why? Because folks can go straight to their farmers. And the farmers can go straight to other local businesses to get what they need to keep moving forward. And new jobs will be created with this footwork in place.
It holds true that “Resiliency will be born out of necessity.”
We have arrived.
THIRD, staying local is just safer, plain and simple.
Local foods have fewer ‘supply chain’ touch points, which significantly reduces the likelihood of contamination. Think about it.
How many hands have touched the food you buy from a grocery store? How many places has it been before it reaches your table? Do you know where or how it was grown, how it was raised, and under what conditions? No, actually you don’t know any of that. And neither does the grocery store worker. Nor does the manager…
You do, however, know all of these answers if you bought your food from a local farmer. You know more because you can see the farm, you can ask the questions directly.
FOURTH, staying local makes you a better steward of the land and water.
How is this possible, you ask? Remember, your food from the grocery store is doing all that traveling, more than you do on vacation. On average, your food travels approximately 1,300 miles from field to plate, and the moment you decide to buy from a local farmer instead, you are eliminating that mileage. INSTANTLY! And all the fuel that goes with it!
So, you go to the farm stand or the farmers’ market, and you bring your food home. What’s that? 3 miles? 10 miles? 30 miles? Ok. Well, that’s a BIG difference. That lowers your carbon footprint significantly now, doesn’t it?
AND, don’t forget that you know or you can easily find out how that food was grown. It’s not big-industrial or big-commercial agriculture you are supporting now. It’s small business, locally grown, in your community, and you just aren’t going to find the swath of chemicals on your food, or in your soil, or in your waterways that the big guys are famous for. Even better, if you know the farmers’ practices, AND you go organic on the local level, you can skip the unnecessary fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, antibiotics, and hormones used to grow your grocery store food. Good riddens!
So, if you are buying from your local farmers who aren’t using any of this crap, making THEM good stewards of the land and water, then you aren’t voting for CRAP AND BAD PRACTICES WITH HIDEOUS ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS with your dollars. 'Not only will you be significantly healthier for it, but the environment will be, too.
FIFTH, staying local means that you are paying for food of quality, vitality, and flavor, all while supporting local employment.
You’re getting the just-harvested quality that can’t be beat. And it was likely cared for and harvested by someone you know in the community. Packaging is far reduced. Transportation is minimal.
Or, you can pay the big guys, which means you are paying for transportation and packaging, and nothing else. So now, you tell me how those dollars will stay in the community… they just don’t.
SIXTH, staying local means you are getting the freshest stuff, the highest quality, the real bang for your bucks. And it’s healthier for your body and lasts longer, too!
Oftentimes, you will find unique items and heirloom varieties from a farmer unlike anything you will find in a grocery store. This will diversify your diet and help you expand your food horizons. It can even alter your taste buds, helping you crave the things you SHOULD be consuming and avoiding the stuff that you shouldn’t be.
Eating a wide variety of colorful vegetables and fruits guarantees your body a multitude of antioxidants and phytonutrients, which helps us fend off illnesses and diseases. You’re only going to find that from local farm to local table; not from a big box grocery store.
You’ll also find the vitality of farm products is far higher because it was just recently harvested, and is the most nutrient-dense at that time. And more than likely, you’ll be eating that freshly harvested farm food soon after, which means your body will gain all that good nutritional value at consumption.
SEVENTH, staying local keeps more money in your pocket.
I know it sounds crazy because many of you have heard the opposite, but it’s just not true. Buying your farm fresh food locally costs you FAR LESS in the LONG RUN and sometimes even in the short run.
Let’s talk about it.
Here’s the scenario: You go to the grocery store and buy some produce which only lasts a few days before going bad. Why is that? Because the food you bought was harvested pre-maturely, gassed on the truck while traveling across the country, and packaged at a facility along the way before it was dropped at the grocery store you chose to shop at.
Why do the big box stores have sales? TO GET RID OF products. Sometimes there is an abundance that just won’t sell, and sometimes it’s because those products are going bad in spite of all previously described efforts. The managers are trying to make a last ditch effort at making the sale.
Let me ask you: If you have to throw it away, was it worth the money you spent? If you really needed it, won’t you just have to buy it again? Was it really worth it to get the sale now that you need to buy it twice to eat it once?
Just like any business, there are upfront costs and there are hidden costs. Buying locally weeds out the need for secrets and allows for transparency. The costs are obvious. The products are delicious. They are healthy and nutritious. And it’s your body’s fuel for every day.
Isn’t that worth the hard-earned money you spend?
Take care of yourself daily by eating local foods, or spend far more later on the healthcare system. It’s always your choice; your vote with your dollars.
EIGHTH, staying local helps to build a strong foundation of understanding and trust, which makes for stronger communities.
Food is fundamental. While farmers have yet to face the full economic impact of this pandemic, this relationship in development between both eaters and producers can also help to fulfill many other important human connections within communities. These connections are important in all times, especially in crises.
And now with appropriate technology in place, we can better connect consumers with producers, create more efficient and fair markets, enhance production efficiency, and improve climate resilience.
And since the global food system is not going anywhere, anytime soon, we can also better educate our consumers on just what their dollars are paying for in ways we were previously unable to. We can level off the playing field and build a far more resilient food system that contributes to increased food security on both the local and global levels, raising both awareness and transparency in the process.
Have you heard this quote before? “Healthy citizens are the greatest asset any country can have.” That was Winston Churchill.
I say: Let’s build that. Let’s start NOW.
NOW, where do we go from here?
Before COVID-19, food security issues were largely the concern of developing countries and developing states. These are now the concern of ALL countries, both rich and poor.
Food systems are at the cross-roads of human, animal, economic, and environmental health. By ignoring this fact, we expose the world economy to ever-expanding health care needs and financial shocks as the climate changes and the global population grows.
Local food production is more important now than ever before. Sourcing food locally reduces the threat of supply chain ‘shocks' while offering a plethora of social, economic, nutritional, and environmental benefits to consumers, producers, and the surrounding communities.
By prioritizing food system reforms in our “build forward” agendas, we can make solid in-roads toward sustainable development goals.
In other talks, I discuss why sustainable food systems are needed beyond COVID-19 with economic development efforts leading the charge. Please be on the lookout for future events.