Why exactly SHOULD you pay a buck fifty for a cucumber?
At this point in the season, you have had your share of skeptical walks by the Northeastern Farmers’ Market. Why pay $4 for a small container of blueberries when you could buy them commercially for $2? The price here is inflated, but is it worth it? Here are a few reasons why spending the extra buck can really benefit your health, the environment and perhaps most importantly, the local farmers who refuse to give into the conventional food industry’s tactics.
1. Reduce gas emissions: Slow global climate change
Purchasing local food means that less gas was guzzled up to get it to you. With the looming threat of global warming, buying local food is environmentally responsible and slows the negative effects of excess gas emissions. Shorter trip from farm to you equals a happier planet.
2. Keepin’ it fresh, keepin’ it real A shorter trip to the shelves means less need for genetic modification. Big conventional food companies genetically modify (GM) their food so it can stay pretty after a long bumpy ride from point A to point B (think about all those Florida oranges and California avocados! They don’t stay that pretty on their own). By purchasing locally grown produce from farmers’ markets and looking for the “locally grown” labels in the grocery stores, you are helping to eliminate the need for genetically modified fruits and vegetables. Plus, you know they are always fresh and at their prime (in season) when you buy local.
3. Good, good, GOOD, good nutrition!
Excuse the corny Beach Boys reference, but four “goods” are necessary to describe the nutritional benefits your body reaps from consuming local foods. When you purchase a non-local product, you can be sure that piece of fruit was picked well before it was fully ripe so that by the time it gets to you, it’s not browning and sinking into itself and can still look pretty on the shelf for a few extra days. When you pick a fruit or vegetable before it is fully ready, you compromise its nutritional value. Buying local foods means you are literally buying better and more efficient nutrition. Local foods don’t need to travel as far, so they can be picked at their prime in terms of taste and nutritional value.
PSSST! Whole foods is currently selling totes of local apples for only $.99/lb! The average is $4 a bag! I’ve already made apple sauce, cider, and pie with these beauties!
4. Protect your own! Buying local means supporting local farmers.
With the USDA, FDA and all the top guns of the conventional food industry breathing down farmers’ necks, it is harder than ever to keep their small family businesses down to earth and pure of pesticides, GM produce, and hormones in their livestock. The food industry has farmers trapped in permanent debt, making it impossible for them to run their businesses in a traditional non-“Franken-food” manner. By buying their produce, we can help farmers remain free of the possibility of falling victim to the food industry. The more people that opt for the cheaper versions of fruits and veggies, the more these local farmers suffer. And the best part is, these are the farmers that realize the harm in spraying their produce with harmful carcinogenic pesticides; they are literally being punished and charged for trying to keep their crops safe for consumption!
5. INVEST IN YOUR WELL-BEING!
Now, I’m not saying you have to switch your entire diet over to organic and local; we’re college students, let’s be real. But if you’re holding off on a trip to the NU farmers markets because you’re saving your pennies for booze, consider this. What better way is there to spend money than to invest it directly into the condition of your body? Just think: we fabulous college women spend hundreds of dollars on things to put ON our bodies, but then go and buy a $2 egg and cheese sandwich at Dunkin’ for lunch. What about what goes INTO our bodies? This week, skip the extra pint of beer at last call and instead invest that extra money in the keeping and care of you!
By purchasing even one cucumber each Wednesday at the NU farmers’ market, you are greatly benefiting small local farms, the environment and (most importantaly) you! So treat yourself this week to some fresh, high-nutrient, local produce.
For more information on the Northeastern Farmers’ Market, visit them on Facebook
Photos: Northeastern University Farmers’ Market, Locally Grown