Locally grown food is expensive. But we don’t need to replace the sun. She's applied her knowledge of visual design and software testing on many projects over the years, ranging from small businesses to large well known brands and organizations. Even the most ambitious urban farming efforts can’t replace the rest of the world’s agriculture. As a result, indoor farms are severely limited and have a hard time growing things besides simple greens. We are glad to share Ensia articles free of charge under the terms of Creative Commons’ Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported license. Price: This is really dependent but if you are buying the more artisanal type produce from your local far A lot of local farmers report it is more difficult for them to sell their produce based on looks. Also, most local farmers are family oriented, and so selling their goods at lower prices is definitely not a profitable deal for them. The container farms from Freight Farms, for example, use about 80 kilowatt-hours of electricity a day to power the lights and pumps. However, there are many people that would argue that local is a smaller distance and there are other people who would argue that it is an even greater distance. We’re now seeing what you could call “hyper-local” food, where crops are grown inside a building, whether a warehouse, an office building, a grocery store or even a restaurant. Most of them do not have businesses such as that of retail food supply stores. Food that’s grown overseas may be subject to safety issues, and the further it … This is vastly more than the emissions it would take to ship the food from someplace else. But don’t feel bad. Why? Many foods will be available for only very short periods of the year. Additionally, locally grown produce that hasn’t been scrubbed and sanitized still contains organisms which support gut health and a healthy immune response. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. People are also starting community gardens in their neighborhoods, where folks can share an area of land — maybe in a city park or a school yard — to grow fruits and vegetables. Yes, I’m afraid we can — especially when we start to grow food indoors with energy-intensive, artificial life-support systems. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. © Simple Minded 2019 | Site by Simple Minded. Even though we can often find a variety of fruits and vegetables all year-round in the grocery store, the best time to eat them is when they are locally grown and in season. Just one container costs as much as 10 entire acres of prime American farmland — which is a far better investment, both in terms of food production and future economic value. Sign up now for our bi-weekly newsletter and you'll get the latest stories from Ensia delivered straight to your inbox. And I love that our daughters grew up — even as city kids — knowing a little bit about where food comes from. Supporting local farms allows you to speak with the grower and learn how your food was grown and what practices they use for raising and harvesting. In such areas, if people happen to support local farming, then they may not have a healthy lifestyle. However, the reality is – real fruits and vegetables are not always so pretty. You may also find there is a waiting period to get the item you want, or it may not be available at all locally. We've created informative articles that you can come back to again and again when you have questions or want to learn more! Your email address will not be published. Without a doubt, local food has a great set of benefits. It is estimated that 250,000 tons of global warming gases can be attributed to the transport of our food and products by planes, trucks, ships, and other forms of transportation. The above points on local food and its downsides do not in any way, mean to discourage you from buying food items grown and supplied locally. Local food is fresh, healthy, organic and tastes good. Images and other visuals are not included in this license. This is one of the main reasons locally grown food and goods are generally viewed as being of better quality. And why not grow crops inside closed systems, where water can be recycled, and pests can (in theory) be managed without chemicals? So the bottom line is, sticking only to local goods, means compromising to the wide variety of foods which otherwise, you could have enjoyed if you had supported imported foods. You must use the “Get Article” link below and use the copied text for your repost. Get in touch with us and we'll talk... # Another important factor which may discourage most people to be more inclined towards supporting local food, is the factor of convenience. In addition, you might consider submitting a Voices piece of your own. The other big downside is the limitation of choice. Sign up to receive the latest and greatest articles from our site automatically each week (give or take)...right to your inbox. People love the idea of eating food that is grown nearby on surrounding farms. Supporting local farms and purchasing locally grown food helps maintain farmland and keeps more open spaces in communities. In fact, they pale in comparison to emissions from deforestation, methane from cattle and rice fields, and nitrous oxide from overfertilized fields. Food Safety Concerns: One of the largest criticisms continually waged at locally grown foods concerns said food’s safety. I have found that the added costs associated with buying local are often balanced out. # And another concern, that may surface with local food, is the subject of regulation or certification. There are many who argue that the unemployment rate would increase if more people choose to buy local. Plus, ships, trains and even large trucks driving on interstate highways use less fuel, per pound per mile, than small trucks driving around town. They suggest that just because you can buy something locally made doesn’t mean it is organic or produced using sustainable practices. Finally, indoor farms use a lot of energy and materials to operate. These cookies do not store any personal information. And, in some places, local grass-fed ranches are trying to sequester carbon in the soil, offsetting at least part of beef’s hefty greenhouse gas emissions. While the average superstore can occupy up to 15 Acres including the building structure and parking, most local merchants utilize existing structures or use less land. In other words: urban agriculture. This can be understood from the standard of living of local farmers. Local food also tends to spoil faster because it isn’t typically treated with preservatives like a lot of the produce we find at the supermarket. You get to know who grew your food and where it came from and influence better growing practices to some extent. Your email address will not be published. This is compared to only $43 when the same $100 is spent at a national superstore. # Sticking to buying local food may help in making the region socially and economically sound, but speaking in global terms, it might be actually disadvantageous. As stated earlier, local foods and goods are typically more expensive. The local food movement has done a lot of wonderful things — but some new efforts negate the benefits. Small changes and little steps add up and make a big impact over time.
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