Organics

Eating well supports our individual, communal, and environmental well-being. There is a synergy that occurs as a result of taking positive action with regard to food. According to a poll recently conducted by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University, Americans feel better about buying foods produced domestically than overseas and believe that food grown locally is healthier than food shipped across the country. By extension, food grown close to home is even more beneficial that that grown across the country. When it comes to fruits and vegetables, it is especially beneficial to develop the habit of visiting your local Farmer’s Market.

Reasons to Visit Your Local Farmer's Market

1. Local produce is higher in nutritional content since it usually reaches the consumer within 24 hours of harvest.

2. Local farmers offer produce varieties bred for taste and freshness rather than for long-distance shipping and long shelf life. Fresh produce sold locally is usually picked at its peak.

3. Buying fresh, local produce grown near your home reduces carbon dioxide emissions by limiting the thousands of miles that the food travels in a truck before reaching the consumer.

4. Buying food near your home also reduces the need for pesticides and other chemicals that are used to keep produce looking fresh longer.

5. Studies have shown that conservation practices on the farm, such as grassed waterways and wetlands, filter water-borne pollutants, reduce food-contaminating pathogens and improve water quality.

6. Biological farming promotes healthy soil that is characterized by a high level of microbial biodiversity. In healthy soils, food-contaminating pathogens have to compete with other microbes and are less likely to thrive. Compost, cover crops, and crop rotations lead to healthy solid that produce healthy plants.

7. The ingredients in fresh-cut (processed pre-cut bagged salad) mixes are sources from multiple farms, increasing the risk of food-borne illness through cross-contamination. Processing pre-cut produce increases the risk of bacterial contamination by cutting into the leafy greens and breaking the natural outer layer of the leaves, opening pathways for contaminants. The sealed plastic bags salads are shipped in may be an ideal environment for bacterial growth if they are not kept cold at all times.

8. Buying local supports family farms, strengthens the regional economy, preserves the local landscape, and fosters community. When you buy local food, you vote with your food dollar. This ensures that family farms near you community will continue to thrive and that nutritious, flavorful food will be available for future generations.