Eat Local. Save the World!

Southern24 SOIL

by Elizabeth Holladay and Patrick J. Holladay, Ph.D.

You can help save the world! No, this is not some kind of grandiose idea. It really starts with what’s on your plate. Locally sourced meals from small farms save natural resources, improve biodiversity, decrease pollution, and encourage animal welfare. Also, let’s support poison free food—pesticides are bad for every living thing. We hope you are on board! So, let’s have a look at some of these in a little more detail.

Locally sourced meals save natural resources

According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, a U.S. environmental advocacy group, the average American meal contains food from five different continents! One of the biggest issues with shipping food and its impacts on the environment is water. Current agricultural practices in the U.S. account for 67% of all the country’s freshwater use. As indicated by the World Economic Forum, eating foods that are out-of-season and not grown locally produces a huge drain on freshwater supplies.

The way out of this? Start connecting with local farmers, Georgia Farm Bureau has a list of farmers markets and visit some farms like these listed in Explore Georgia. Also, we invite you to do some research into some of the great businesses through directories such as found in Southern Soil, the very magazine you are currently reading!

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Locally sourced meals improve biodiversity.

Biodiversity, also known as biological diversity, is the variation and variability of organisms in any given environment1. In other words, how many species and how many individuals of these species are there wherever you happen to be in the world. Included in all of these are the plants and animals that provide our food and food production. But, sadly, of the 6000 kinds of food that are grown for food in the world, only nine foods account for a whopping 66% of all crop production! That is not very biodiverse at all, is it?

As reported by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) these nine crops are sugar cane, corn, rice, wheat, potatoes, soybeans, oil-palm fruit, sugar beet and cassava. Not a lot of variety on that menu and a lot of sugar crops. By supporting local farmers who are growing a diverse variety of crops, using natural or organic agriculture, agroecology and permaculture practices (e.g. food forests) we are combating loss of biodiversity to pests, climate change, and monocropping as well as enhancing soil conditions, and improving food nutritional values.

Locally sourced meals decrease pollution

One of the issues with not sourcing food locally is food’s carbon footprint. A carbon footprint is how much carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere due to the burning of fossil fuels. Put another way, how much gas is burned for you to get whatever it is that you are eating? According to a Columbia University article, most foods produced in the US travel 1,500 miles from farm to plate. The National Sustainable Agricultural Information Service calls these “food miles” and advocates for local food systems which reduce transportation costs, provide fresher, better tasting food and keep food dollars in rural communities.

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Locally sourced meals encourage animal welfare

We believe it important to mention that agricultural working conditions and wages should be healthy for people and livestock. According to the Animal Welfare Institute less than 1% of animals raised for consumption are raised in humane conditions. In fact, most livestock are raised on “factory farms”, which are industrialized, large-scale, intensive production facilities. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, these “farms” are intense polluters, promote the spread of disease, create human health issues, contaminate soil and water, and use extremely poor land management practices.

But there is hope and it is found in your local farmers. We want to give a big shout-out to Brandon Chonko of Grassroots Farms, in Camden County, Georgia. We’ve been buying heritage pork and pasture raised chickens from Brandon for quite a long time now and they are outstanding products! And we are not alone. Grassroots Farms has a big following of happy eaters all up and down the coast.

And Grassroots Farms is certainly not the only farm or ranch doing this; there are a number of great livestock producers in South Georgia. We encourage you to find them in your region through amazing organizations like WayGreen, Inc., Southeast Georgia’s Local Food Coalition, the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, Georgia Organic’s Good Food Guide or have a look at Georgia Grown businesses. Do keep in mind, however, that there is a process to receive the Georgia Grown label so there are still plenty of great local products out there that may not have become members yet.

Our closing thoughts on eating local to save the world

Long before the term locavore existed, we knew mullet tasted best when caught at dawn close to home and fried up fresh for a breakfast of fish and grits. And that peaches were a treat that we had to wait till July to enjoy here in South Georgia. If you really want to bring someone around to your point of view then feed them local shrimp, wild blackberries or amazing vegetables from the local farmers market. If you care about nature, people and your community (and we know you do!) then you will conserve it.

And you can start with what you put on your plate. Local, seasonal, and poison free aren’t just tastier but better for us and the planet too. So, support your neighbors. Just think if you eat some local eggs and veggies and fruit for breakfast you have done something powerful. Local is the new standard! Eating close to home is good for the soul and the planet. And it’s yummy!

Holladay, P. J. (2015). Biodiversity. In C. Cater, Garrod, B., & Low, T. (Eds.) The Encyclopedia of Sustainable Tourism.Oxford: CABI. pp. 54-55.

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