Ten Reasons to Get Growing & Eating Locally
- The food tastes better! Local food is picked within the last day or two and is crisp, sweet and loaded with flavor. The closer we are to our food source, the fresher & healthier that food is for us & our community. There’s no taste like home.
- The food is better for you! Fresh produce loses nutrients quickly: enzymes (the nutrient carriers) die within 24-48 hours, sugars turn to starches, plant cells shrink and produce loses its vitality. Buying local lets you get food at the peak of its flavor and nutrition.
- Local food supports local farming families! From Meleana's Farm to Nalo Farm to MA’O Farm, we can support talented and hardworking farm families to stay on their land. Each five-year agricultural census shows more families getting out of farming - less than 2% of the population is currently a farming family. A typical farmer gets paid 10 cents of each retail food dollar. Buying directly from the producer or conscientious retailer keeps more money in the farmer's pocket and a family on the land.
- Local food creates a strong agricultural economy! Local food means a strong local economy and preserves the viability of local agriculture. Local farms and food producers are crucial to a healthy and diversified economy. While dollars spent with non-local businesses almost immediately leave the community, dollars spent on local food products improve the value of your purchase at least threefold.
- Local food builds community! It’s a great connection for eater and grower. Knowing farmers gives insight into the seasons, the weather, ecological and personal health and the accessible miracle of raising food.
- Local food preserves genetic diversity! The modern industrial food system favors crop varieties with thick skins that can survive packing and shipping, leaving few varietal options. Family farmers place value on different things, such as varieties that are uniquely suited to the local environment, often favoring heirloom varieties that have been passed down from generation to generation. Old varieties contain genetic material from hundreds of years of human selection; they may someday provide the genes needed to create varieties that will thrive in a changing climate.
- Local food is free of genetically modified organisms (GMOs)! A June 2001 survey by ABC News showed that 93 percent of US consumers want labels on GMO food - most so that they can avoid it. Biotech companies currently license GMO fruits and vegetables only to large commercial growers, which means that local farmers are a guaranteed non-GMO source.
- Local food is better for the environment! Local food means fewer food miles and dramatically reduces transportation, days of refrigeration and tons of pollution & packaging. Unlike most food in Hawaii, which travels 2,500 - 4,000 miles over the course of 7 - 14 days to reach your plate, local food is usually sold within 24 hours of harvest. A family farm is a place that values resources like fertile soil and clean water. According to some estimates, farmers who practice conservation tillage can sequester 12 to 14 percent of the carbon emitted by vehicles and industry. The habitat of a farm is the perfect environment for many species of wildlife.
- Local food preserves open space! When more people put their dollars into the pockets of farmers and show that their work is valuable, farmland becomes less likely to be developed. We face enormous pressures to develop farmland.
- Local food preserves the aina's unique character! By supporting local farmers today, we can help ensure that there will be farms tomorrow. By preserving farmland, we are guaranteeing that our rural landscape remains beautiful and productive, and that future generations will have the opportunity to work in ecologically sustainable and culturally valuable industries like food production.
Just as food fuels our bodies, energy fuels our economy. Check out our Clean Power program for a platform that can help us achieve energy self-sufficiency!
