by Olha Romaniuk

Created on: July 15, 2009   Last Updated: July 17, 2009

Buying local produce is not only a good way to ensure that you are eating healthy and supporting the local economy, it is also an excellent way to make a difference and become a proponent of building self-reliant, environmentally friendly food production practices. Local purchasing and distribution of food that is grown within your own state may seem like a trend, enjoyed by snobby vegetarians and posh elitists, preaching and pointing fingers at everyone who may even remotely contribute to polluting the planet. On a contrary, however, it is a legitimate way of being considerate of the environment, without going too much out of your own way or without changing your daily routines and habits.

Like recycling, there may arise questions and concerns as to how much benefit does buying locally-grown produce actually provide. After all, sometimes it is more expensive to buy homegrown tomatoes than have them transported from Spain, because of the expensive care practices, if those tomatoes are raised in energy-consuming greenhouses, etc.

However, a little research prior to doing your grocery and produce shopping can prevent erroneous decisions. Some of the local farms, for example, pride themselves on using low-energy consuming technologies and practices, so you can be sure that the products coming from those farms take a minimum amount of energy to grow.

To address the environmental benefits of buying local produce, it is enough to look at how much time and effort it would take to acquire, say, strawberries from California to transport and sell them somewhere in New England. First, since it would, inevitably, take several days to transport the fruit from one coast to another, precautions need to be taken in employing specific preservation techniques to make sure that the strawberries still look fresh and ready to consume once they arrive at their destination.

For that, the strawberries are stored in a climate-controlled, chilled, energy-consuming environment all through their trip. For other products, like leeks and radishes, storage containers filled with ice often need to be provided to store these delicate products and retain most of their original freshness. Without a doubt, one can already imagine how much energy it takes to produce these immense amounts of ice, and how much more energy is wasted on refrigeration to keep the ice from melting on its lengthy trip to New England.

To put things into a global perspective, most produce consumed in the United States

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