A Quick Look at the Benefits of Eating Local

           If the crunching of leaves, naked branches of our evergreen trees or ability to once again open your windows and invite in the cool breeze haven’t yet reminded you that winter is here, let the crunch of a crispy apple and tumultuous leaves of dinosaur kale do the official honors. As much as I love tomatoes, zucchini and watermelon, I am definitely ready to welcome the heart-warming treats of winter, like squash soup and pears! However, are other residents of Long Island and New York also aware that the culinary symbols of everyone’s favorite season are available right here on our island? James E. McWillians wrote in a recent article in the New York Times, “seventy-five percent of the apples sold in New York City come from the West Coast or overseas, the writer Bill McKibben says, even though the state produces far more apples than city residents consume”. Have the majority of New Yorkers turned their back on the farmers of their own beloved and prideful state? How can New York’s farmers, with a reported 521 farmers market statewide, only generate 10 percent of their income from direct-to-consumer sales?

            Consumers are finally more conscious of their choice of organic versus conventional products. However, food experts still struggle to convince many consumers that attention to food origin is just as important as avoidance of pesticides, hormones or steroids. Mainstream foodies began recognizing Jessica Prentice’s term “locavore” when the New Oxford American Dictionary chose it as word of the year in 2007. According to sustainabletable.org, the term locavore “describes and promotes the practice of eating a diet consisting of food harvested from within an area most commonly bound by a 100 mile radius.” While it’s known that conventional products are losing momentum compared to their organic competitors due to their potentially harmful health effects, less people are aware of the benefits of eating local. Why should we care so much about where our food comes from and how will we directly benefit from adopting a locally based diet?

            The most obvious answer is that eating local stimulates and supports the local economy. Small producers are in constant competition with corporate competitors, often times unable to match their supremely low prices due to mass production. However, when the race for quantity began, quality was lost. Not only do locally sourced goods support local producers and keep them from struggling with corporate competitors, but they are also fresher and plain taste better! Time magazine’s John Cloud wrote “I care deeply about how my food tastes, and it makes sense that a snow pea grown by a local farmer and never refrigerated will retain more of its delicate leguminous flavor than one shipped in a frigid plane from Guatemala. And I realized that if more consumers didn't become part of the local-food market, it could disappear and all our peas would be those tasteless little pods from far away.” Produce sold at farmers markets is often picked within 24 hours of its purchase, leaving more time to ripen on the vine. Local produce will not only taste better as a result of its ripeness, but have higher nutritional value as well.  Food that is shipped great distances cannot mature to ensure its longevity and “toughness” to withstand shipment.  

            However, consumer benefits go beyond the scope of pleasure. Farmers markets actually provide better access to nutritional food for low-income households as well. New York State has initiated several programs that encourage low-income households to buy fresher, healthier food at local markets. These programs include: Health Bucks, Fresh Connects Checks, Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program, Green Carts and Healthy Bodegas Initiative. For every $5 of food stamp purchases at farmers markets, recipients receive $2 in Health Bucks. You will find that prices at farmers markets are surprisingly not far off from those of supermarkets (although I can’t say the same about quality).

            Another benefit of eating locally grown and sold products is the reduction in oil consumption due to shorter transport. The average American food product is transported 1,500 miles before purchasing.  Not only will you contribute to less oil consumption, but also food that has travelled less from farm to plate has been less exposed to potentially harmful contamination and elements of bioterrorism. Although organic foods are ideal, a March 2005 study in the Journal of Food Policy found that organic food often travels so far before reaching the consumer that its environmental damage often outweighs the benefits of buying organic. Though we should pay attention to how our products are produced, just because a product is labeled as organic does not mean it isn’t mass-produced and its production doesn’t guzzle down fossil fuels. Markets give us the ability to ask farmers exactly how their products are produced, providing an extra sense of security and assurance. Ideally our food will be both local and organic and that’s where people like Teddy Bolkas of Thera Farms in Ronkonkoma come in! You can find Teddy’s organic, hydroponic greens sold at the Commack Winter Farmers Market on Sundays from 9:00a.m. -1:00p.m.

            Finally, we cannot forget about seasonality, biodiversity and variety. For the most part only naturally seasonal produce is available at local farmers markets. Not only will you learn to enjoy the excitement of a new vegetable coming into season, but your body will also be exposed to diverse nutrients and vitamins as a result. It also respects the Earth’s natural biodiversity and cycles of growing. Although we often forget, the Earth has its limits and by eating local, seasonal food we can help maintain a sense of respect for the limitations of our planet’s bounty. You can even shake the hand of the farmer that grew your food, a comforting sense for many that creates social bonds between community members.

I know, I know. It’s intimidating having to change all of your shopping habits! However, you don’t have to do it all at once to facilitate your new locavore diet. Start simply and set a goal for yourself. A good place to start is by buying all of your produce at local farmers markets. The rest will follow as I’m sure you will immediately see the benefits of a tree-cut apple, freshly pickled bread n’ butter or Brooklyn baked bread.  You can start at the Commack Winter Farmers Market at the Suffolk Y JCC at 75 Hauppague Rd, Commack, NY. For more resources on Long Island Farmers market, check out the LI Green Market website at: http://ligreenmarket.org or G&G LI Winter Farmers Markets at: http://www.winterfarmersmarketlongisland.com/. Get inspired and let the colors and scents carry you away into the coziness of winter with a fresh routine.