I also ran across an interesting article recently in Grit Magazine called the No-Bar-Code Challenge, and this inspired me to give up the last few remaining processed items we keep in the house (moment of honesty- like many residents of Wisconsin I am big frozen pizza fan, so my goal for 2017 is to find a crust recipe that I love--please pass along any good ones you have!).
If you're still working on coming up with a new year's resolution, try eating local! Here are my top 7 reasons:
1) Local food tastes better. This isn't an economic or political reason. In fact, it's down right self-centered. If the local food movement has taught me one thing, it's that food from a big box chain can't compete with something locally grown and harvested ripe at the peak of flavor, and often eaten by the consumer within 24 hours.
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| Nothing beats ripe produce picked and eaten within a day or two. |
2) Eat in season. Aside from flavor, eating in season has many benefits, the largest of which is that food is cheaper when it is abundant. If you eat in season, you'll be getting tired of one vegetable just as a new vegetable is coming into season. (Many regions have charts to tell you what is available all year.) I remember last year I was so excited to have fresh asparagus. Just about the time I didn't want to eat any more asparagus, the salad season started and I was excited once again. Nature gives us this great calendar to enjoy vegetables and fruits when they are cheap, abundant, and full of flavor. Even in winter, we can enjoy the storage crops that keep us warm and cozy-- roasted potatoes with onions and winter squash soup are two of my favorite cold weather warm ups.
3) Environmental impact. When you see a label on produce that says it comes from California or Argentina, stop and think about the fuel needed to get the food to your plate-- trucks, ships, more trucks. If you eat local, however, the food gets to you with minimal environmental impact. This is something I am especially proud of with our urban farm. Because we farm in town, the transportation costs and fuel usage are much less. And because we don't use tractors or other large farm machinery, we are able to lower our environmental footprint even more.
4) Knowledge. Having a personal relationship with a grower allows you to ask questions about a their practices, such as, "exactly what herbicides and pesticides do you use or avoid?" You just can't get these answers at Sam's Club.
5) Entertainment. Buying and eating locally provide a lot of fun opportunities for adults and kids alike. Farmers' markets, farm visits, and farm-to-table restaurants are all great times to celebrate the culture of local food.
6) Health. Because local vegetables and fruits are harvested when fully ripe and eaten soon after picking, they don't lose nutrients over time and transport. And because this produce also tastes better, people are likely to eat more produce than they normally would. And if you're cooking at home instead of eating prepackaged food or fast food, your meals will be healthier as well as tastier!
7) Support the local economy. When you buy anything locally you are putting money back into your regional economy. Not only does this create local jobs directly, but each one of those workers puts money back into the same economy by purchasing goods or buying local services. Not as obvious is the impact on the culture of our local economy. For example, farmers' markets are fun and entertaining and bring people out to not just buy produce, but also purchase coffee, drink a regional beer, eat lunch, and pick up that cute t-shirt they saw at a local shop.
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| Purple Cow Organics (sell they some fantastic compost!) is an example of a local business supported by local farms, including Two Wheels Urban Farm. |
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Since the growing season starts at the end of the month, I'm taking my last bit of vacation next week, and I will be back at the end of February. By then I hope to have an update on planting!
Enjoy these last days of winter!
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