Count your food miles

That food on your plate...how did it get there?

Cool Grandma Marian Thomas, of Kansas City, knows the secret to tasty nutritious food is also a smart way to stop global warming:  Marian buys locally grown food at the Farmer's Market.  Marian not only buys locally grown food, she also grows vegetables in her own garden and saves fallen sycamore tree bark to use as mulch.  Food that is grown locally and eaten in season retains better flavor and nutritional value than food shipped long distances.  Direct sales from farmer to consumer often save us money.  

But how does buying local food stop global warming?

It's simple.  The fewer miles, the fewer the emissions.  Americans are wasting almost as much fuel getting our food to our plates as we do driving around.  Transportation is a major culprit in producing an overabundance of greenhouse gases.  This is causing our planet to heat up.  Our choices can help stop global warming.  Like Marian, we can wander down to the Farmer's Market and make a difference.

Eat your peas, please!

Who hasn't struggled with getting kids to eat more fruits and veggies?  But who can blame them?  Flavorless out of season vegetables are no joy to the palate.  Locally grown food tastes better and tasty food easily finds its way into a picky eaters mouth.  Kids are also naturally curious and get a lot of pleasure knowing where their food comes from.  Help your kids out and show them where their food comes from.  Head to the Farmer's Market or explore the roadside pickup truck.  Join a CSA (community supported agriculture).  Put a friendly face together with that apple and you may well discover some newfound enthusiasm.  What's healthy for our kids is healthy for our planet.

Sounds great but how DO I buy local food?

There are lots of choices.  There are nearly two million farms in the United States.  80% of those are small farms and a large percentage are family owned.  There are roadside stands, U-Pick programs, and Farmer's Markets.  CSA programs (Community Supported Agriculture) are subscription programs where customers receive a weekly or monthly basket of produce, eggs, milk or more from a local farm.  Local Harvest (with maps!) is a good place to start exploring your local options.  If you don't find it there, ask.  Ask friends and neighbors for recommendations.  If you're still inclined to head to the grocery, look at labels and ask where it comes from.  Ask your store to supply more local products. 

One local meal a week saves a lot of oil!

(the following excerpt is from Barbara Kingsolver's book:  Animal, Vegetable, Miracle) 

If every U.S. citizen ate just one meal a week (any meal) composed of locally and organically raised meats and produce, we would reduce our country's oil consuption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week.  That's not gallons, but barrels.  Small changes in buying habits can make big differences.  Becoming a less energy-dependent nation may just need to start with a good breakfast.