13. Think Globally, Eat Locally

There are 5 million fewer farmers in the U.S. today than
there were in the 1930s.

BACKGROUND

Ever take a look at where the food in your kitchen comes from? It’s pretty amazing. Depending on the season, you might have oranges from Israel, grapes from Chile, apples from New Zealand. It’s an impressive distribution system…but people are starting to notice that there are hidden environmental costs in routinely transporting food across a continent or halfway around the world. The result is a new way of thinking about what we eat, known as the “local foods” movement.

DID YOU KNOW

• In the U.S. today, most “fresh” food is trucked long distances from huge farms, many of which are corporate-owned. A head of romaine lettuce typically travels 2,055 miles from farm to store; a stalk of celery averages 1,788 miles; an onion, 1,675 miles.
• In fact, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the typical American meal contains ingredients from at least five countries outside the United States.
• Imported food is transported by planes, ships, and trucks. “In 2005 alone,” NRDC reports, “total agricultural imports into California resulted in almost 250,000 tons of global warming pollution, more than 6,000 tons of smog-forming nitrogen oxides and 300 tons of sooty particulate matter.”
• Another important environmental consequence is the impact on farmland and our food system. Buying food from far away puts local farmland (and farmers) at risk. It takes away the incentive to protect this valuable land, and that’s one reason we’re losing so much of it. According to a recent study, the U.S. is losing two acres of mostly prime farmland every minute to development.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Your Partner: The Food Routes Conservancy (FRC), a national nonprofit “dedicated to reintroducing Americans to their food.” Check them out at foodroutes.org
Your Goal: Support farmers in your area by eating locally grown food. FRC will help you find local food, join a local Buy Fresh Buy Local chapter, and spend some time on a farm discovering just how your food is produced.

START SIMPLE

Go on a treasure hunt. See if you can find your local farmers market(s), food co-op, or a U-pick farm stand. Bonus points: Look for “producers-only” farmers markets to assure local sources.

STEPS FOR SUCCESS

Step 1. Take the “Buy Local” challenge. Spend $10 a week for the next year on local foods. Sign up at foodroutes.org/buy-localchallenge.jsp. They’ll show you how to find seasonal foods grown by local food producers, as well as stores that carry them in your area.

Step 2. Join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), which lets you buy a box of local, in-season produce once a week and have it delivered. If one box is too much for you and your family, split it with others. In 1990, there were only about 50 CSAs; now there are more than 1,000. For a Web site listing every CSA in the U.S.: foodroutes.org

Step 3. Visit local farmers (great for kids!). There’s a lot to learn about where your food comes from and how different (and how much better) it is when it comes from local sources. The best educators about Local Foods are the people who grow it. To find out more about farm tours, check 50simplethings.com/localfoods

Step 4. Host a local foods party. Print out the recipes and where you got each ingredient. Invite a local farmer to be your guest.

Step 5. Organize an Eat Local Challenge Week. This great idea is spreading across the country. For a week, stage events that use and promote local foods in your community. Restaurants may offer local food entrees; grocers can have specials on local produce. Get detailed instructions from us at 50simplethings.com/localfoods