Consumers seeking to eat healthy while giving something back to their community and society are growing in number. All around the nation, people are choosing to eat locally for good reasons. In this time of easy and prevalent global travel, it's still a novel idea to support your hometown farmer, but the idea seems to be catching on in more ways than one.

The vast majority of what North Americans eat comes from an average of 1500 miles away. According to Worldwatch Institute, a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit organization, since 1980 there has been a 25 percent increase in the distance that food travels to get from the farm to the table. Corporations are the principal beneficiaries of a global food system now dominating the production, processing, distribution, and consumption of food.

In a study done by the journal Food Policy in March 2005, it was shown that people could help the environment by buying or growing food within a 20km (12-mile) radius of their homes. They calculated a shopping basket's hidden costs, which mount up as produce is transported over long distances.

The National Gardening Association reports that gardening in the United States is at an all time high. Individuals from 85 million households8 out of 10 in the U.S. figure is up from 67 percent since 1997, and even though not all gardeners are growing edible foods, many are. Urban Community Gardens' website states there are an estimated 10,000 community gardens within U.S. cities, with residents sharing maintenance and rewards of garden produce.

"With gas prices spiking, people are concerned about our dependence on petroleum," says Locavores co-founder Jessica Prentice for Time Magazine . "Why import apples from New Zealand when we can grow them nearby?" Backyard gardeners, neighborhood community gardens, and school gardens are gaining in popularity.

Local Bay Area citizens Jen Maiser, Sage Van Wing and two Bay Area chefs, Jessica Prentice and Dede Sampson founded Locavores, a San Francisco group dedicated to eating foods grown within a 100-mile radius of home. They recognize that the choices one makes about what foods to eat are important politically, environmentally, economically, and healthfully.

To help raise awareness about the globalization of the food supply, Locavores challenges people from the Bay Area (and all over the world) to register online at www.locavores.com to eat locally for at least one month out of the year. According to their website, the trend has spread across the nation. They explain that supporting local growers supports responsible land development. When you buy locally, you give those with local open space —farms and pastures—an economic reason to stay open and undeveloped, and open space can benefit us all.

Corporate agribusiness currently imports foods from all over the world to feed hungry Americans. Even much of the food grown within California's fertile valley must be shipped across the country to distribution centers before it makes its way back to our [Bay Area] supermarket shelves. Food taste can be lost with travel time.

Statistics show many consumers coming to appreciate the benefits of fresh and sustainable food. The organic movement has brought some changes to the industry, but increasingly, even certified organics are being produced from mega monoculture farms, many of them overseas.

This globalization of the food supply has affected many dinner menus, but according to aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu , many inner city neighborhood residents are coming together to form coalitions to better their neighborhood and their lives with the way they get fresh, healthy food. Many groups are forming community garden in vacant lots, or even on rooftops. This revival of utilizing vacant lots across America is reflected in a recent event which took place in Los Angeles. Dozens of protesters, including actress Daryl Hannah, were arrested on June 13 during the eviction of 350 farmers who began a 14-acre inner city urban garden on unused land. "We South Central farmers have resolved to save this farm for our children and for generations to come," said 35-year-old farmer Rocio Cardozo in an interview with Associated Press on June 26.

Alternative producers, alternative consumers, and alternative small entrepreneurs are rediscovering community as well and finding common reasons to work together. Eating locally means more for the local economy. According to a study by the New Economics Foundation in London, a dollar spent locally generates twice as much income for the local economy. When businesses are not owned locally, money leaves the community during every transaction.

Visit www.localharvest.org to find locally-grown food in your area.

 

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