Buy local: Food tastes better, and it’s fresher
By Tom Saul

Instead of row after row of corn and soybeans, Joe Dennis of Nostalgia Farms outside of Maysville, Iowa, looks out across fields of greens, herbs, fruits and poultry.

All of the crops grown on his 65 acres are chemical-free and virtually all are sold and consumed within 100 miles of his farm, Dennis said. His way of farming is more sustainable, is better for the ground and suits his lifestyle.

“The whole purpose of this way of farming is to have the least impact possible,” Dennis said.” Small farms that produce for the local economy are going to take off.”

Environmental and global warming concerns don’t stop with cars and coal power plants. Growing and moving food is getting greater scrutiny. The number of “food-miles” edibles travel and the carbon footprint it takes to produce and transport them are part of a growing movement emphasizing locally grown food.

The average food item on the American table travels 1,500 miles, said Diane Hatz, founder and director of Sustainable Table, a New York City-based group that educates consumers about what they eat, where it comes from and the benefits of buying and consuming locally produced food.

Long travel time not only adds to the cost of fuel to transport food, Hatz said, it adds to the amount of packaging and processing necessary to keep it presentable as it is shipped long distances.

“All that stuff ends up in the landfill,” she said.

Locally grown produce tastes better and is more nutritious because it can be harvested at maturity, instead of while it is still green to accommodate the demands of shipping, Hatz said. While all foods cannot be locally grown, such as bananas, oranges or coffee, consumers should make themselves aware where such items come from and make their buying choices accordingly.

“For instance, oranges,” Hatz said. “You can’t buy oranges grown in New York, but you can buy those that are grown in Florida. That is a lot closer than buying them from South America.”

In Iowa, a network of growers, sellers and restaurateurs focus on locally or regionally grown foods ranging from herbs, tomatoes, produce and fruit to poultry, beef and pork, said Mallory Smith, Iowa coordinator for the Buy Fresh Buy Local movement.

They are increasingly showing up on grocer’s shelves, on restaurant tables and in farmer’s markets, Smith said.

Locally grown food can be produced four times more efficiently, uses four times less fuel and emits four times less carbon dioxide than items produced on the global market, said Rich Pirog, associate director of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University.

In Great Britain and other western European countries, so-called carbon footprint calculators are readily available to consumers who want to know how their eating habits affect the environment, Pirog said. They are not readily available in the United States but may be soon.

Tom Saul is a reporter for the Quad-City Times in Davenport, Iowa, tsaul@qctimes.com.