Step into any supermarket and scan the perimeters and aisles. The choices are endless and often overwhelming. In many cases, virtually every food imaginable is available at your fingertips.
But look closer. Are those options as fresh and as healthy as they could be? Today’s consumer has been encouraged to read labels to help determine the most nutritious foods. Some health experts warn that if you can’t pronounce half of the ingredients then you should pass on that item. Others insist that the first four ingredients on a package should be natural in order for it to be a good option.
Fresh, natural ingredients in the foods we eat is one good reason to buy local. But there are other reasons as well:
1) Buying local means eating fresh food. You’ve probably heard the phrase “from farm to table”. When you buy local, you are shortening that process. Visit a farmer’s markets and you’ll likely receive produce that has been picked that morning. It doesn’t get any fresher than that!
2) Buying local translates to better nutrition. Since produce is often picked right before sale, it retains its nutritional properties better than food that has been transported great distances over time. Local products are also less likely to contain chemicals and preservatives since they don’t have to be transported long distances or out of season.
3) Buying local supports a more sustainable food system. It stands to reason that locally produced food will involve other local businesses to ensure that it is properly packaged, marketed and delivered from farm to home. So, it’s not just the farmer that benefits from buying local but all of the other businesses that help him or her bring it to the marketplace.
4) Buying local sustains the local economy. Dovetailing on the sustainable food system idea, supporting local growers, and consequently, the businesses that help them, enhances the local economy overall.
5) Buying local saves the customer money. Because you are buying direct from the grower or maker, you save money. There is no middle man to mark up the product, so they can make a profit.
6) Buying local protects the environment. As a more eco-conscious society, increasing numbers of farmers are committed to environmentally-friendly farming. As a result, soil is more greatly enriched, fewer pesticides and chemical fertilizers are used, smarter energy methods are practiced, and water and air quality is more closely monitored. What’s more, since produce and products are grown, created and distributed locally, the fossil fuels and energy used to truck items (and the carbon emissions that follow) is greatly reduced.
7) Buying local enhances the landscape. Loudoun’s beautiful scenery has long been a main attraction for residents and visitors alike. Demand for local products helps to preserve the land that they are grown or made on; thereby preserving the landscape.
8) Buying local doesn’t strain the infrastructure. Unlike residential and commercial development, farming doesn’t strain Loudoun’s infrastructure. It doesn’t contribute to the burdens placed on roads, utilities and schools the way large businesses do. As a result, more farms, and fewer residences and commercial buildings, convey to a lower tax rate.
9) Buying local attracts more tourists. Visit one of the local wineries. Attend a farmer’s market. Peruse one of the annual craft fairs. Undoubtedly, each will have more than a handful of tourists enjoying the sights, sounds, smells, tastes and wares of Loudoun County.
10) Buying local preserves a long-standing tradition. In the mid-19th century, Loudoun County was considered the breadbasket of Virginia. Agriculture has been an important aspect of life in the county and at one time, produced more corn than any other area of Virginia. This tradition is an integral part of Loudoun’s character.
11) Buying local results in more humane treatment of animals. Local growers usually treat their animals more humanely. The majority (if not all) of Loudoun’s livestock is grass-grazed, free range and not subjected to growth hormones or antibiotics.
Aside from being a locavore, Julie Johnson is a business writer and PR consultant in Leesburg, VA. She can be reached at jjohnson@juliewrites.com.