Whether you are purchasing fruits and vegetables from a CSA farmer or pastured pork and grass finished beef, there are many benefits to buying locally raised food, and each person makes their choice for different reasons. The local farmer can tell you how the animal was raised (the associate at the supermarket can’t tell you how the animal was raised). When you know where your food comes from and who grew it, you know a lot more about that food. Locally grown or raised food creates important economic opportunities, provides health benefits, and helps to reduce environmental impact. It also helps bring the community together and gives people the opportunity to make a difference.
Local Foods Are Fresher & Taste Better
Sustainably raised local meats and produce are known to provide a far superior taste than their industrial farm counterparts. Pasture-raised and grass-fed meats are much more flavorful and higher quality than factory-farmed varieties. Locally grown vegetables are much fresher than vegetables that has been shipped in from far away.
Local Foods Improve Food Safety
The more steps between you and your food supply, the greater the risk of food contamination. Buying directly from local producers reduces the risk of eating unsafe food. Food grown in distant locations has the potential for food safety issues at harvesting, washing, shipping and distribution.
Local Foods Support Your Community’s Economy
The money that is spent with local farmers all stays close to home and is reinvested with businesses and services in your community. This works to build the economy in your community instead of a corporation in another state or country.
Local Foods Create a Sense of Community
Buying locally raised meat and knowing where your food is from connects you to the farmer who raised it. Instead of having a relationship with a corporate supermarket, you develop a relationship with your local farmer. For many families, farming is more than a business, it’s a way of life that they are trying to preserve for future generations. By purchasing locally grown food, you can help your local farmers carry on their family traditions.
Locally raised meats are healthier for you to eat.
It is a good idea to get to know your local farmer and their practices to make sure you are purchasing and consuming meat free from added hormones, antibiotics, and/or chemicals. When you speak to your local farmer, you’ll find they have a deep respect for their animals and raise animals to have the best life possible. Their animals typically are fed natural diets, not pumped full of steroids or antibiotics. Regenerative farmers also do not use chemical fertilizers and herbicides that can also lead to meat adulteration.
Locally raised meats on regenerative farms are better for the Environment.
Imported food is shipped sometimes hundreds or thousands of miles to arrive at the supermarket. “Food miles” is a term used to describe the distance that food has traveled, from the place it was produced to the place where it will be sold to the consumer. The more food miles accumulated during food transportation, the more fossil fuels that are consumed. Increased transportation causes greater carbon emissions. Reducing food miles helps alleviate our dependence on fossil fuels, reduce air pollution and cut back on greenhouse gas emissions.
Locally raised meats promote accountability.
When animals are raised locally, the consumer better understands how and where their food is being produced. This awareness encourages your local farmer to use sustainable agriculture practices and be more accountable to safe ecological practices, which may include not using pesticides or implementing systems that are less resource intensive than industrial agriculture.
Consumers now have the choice to purchase food locally and learn more about food production directly from the farmers themselves. Being connected to your local farmer is also a great learning experience for children who can develop their knowledge about food systems and agriculture. As concerns grow over the sustainability and safety of meat production, many families are choosing to purchase their meats from local farmers. Consumers who purchase locally raised meats also have peace of mind knowing exactly where their food came from and how it was raised. Whatever your reason, buying locally raised meats is an important movement to support within your community.
