I have never met a person who does not believe a tomato from your own garden or farmer’s market does not taste far superior to those pale red rock-hard abominations they sell at the grocery store. But did you know that eating locally can help preserve open space and help reduce global warming? The average distance that fresh produce travels to reach most of our dinner tables is 1500 miles. That’s a long way! Imagine the amount of gas that was used to get that cucumber to your store. Add to that the fact that it likely doesn’t taste as good as a locally-grown cucumber and it probably loaded with pesticides, and it seems kind of crazy not to stock up at your local farmer’s market whenever possible.
Buying locally-grown food is also a way to help preserve open space in your area and keep development at bay. Supporting your local farmers means their land will stay pastoral and not be turned into high density communities. If a family farmer can no longer stay in business, he will likely sell his land to the highest bidder, and the most profitable developments are not 1800 square foot houses on an acre of land.