The Top 11 Benefits of Locally Grown Food!

Have you ever wondered what exactly the benefits of eating locally are?

If so you’re not alone!

Locally grown food is sweeping the nation, but you might not know why exactly locally grown food is better for you, your community and the environment!

In this article, we are going to look at 13 amazing benefits that come from eating locally.

Let’s get started!

1. Buying local food supports the local economy. When you buy locally grown food, instead of giving your hard-earned money to a giant evil corporation like Monsanto, you support your local farmers. By shopping locally you keep your money within your local economy promoting higher standards of living, better health, and a more vibrant community. Plus when you buy food from a giant supermarket, their CEO might get an extra bonus at Christmas but none of the people who actually help you select your produce see a penny. Expanding the local market to become self-sufficient and increase the awareness of eating good healthy produce!
2. Local foods promote a safer food supply. If you’ve been paying attention to the news over the last few years, you know that food safety is a growing concern. As recently as November of 2019, there was an investigation of E-coli linked to Romaine Lettuce from Salinas California. Buying locally grown food promotes safer food supply chains and insulates you from buying contaminated food.
3. Local growers can tell you how the food was grown. If you are what you eat, shouldn’t you know as much as possible about the food you’re putting in your body? Another benefit of buying local is that you get to speak with the people who actually grew the food you and your family are going to be eating! You can learn everything from the amount of water used to grow your food to the composition of the soil!

4. Local Foods contribute less waste to the environment. Because buying locally shortens the distribution chain, less food is wasted. Buying local means less food spoiling in trucks and in warehouses or going unpurchased in supermarkets.

5. Local foods are fresher. When you buy produce at a supermarket it’s often weeks old. This means you have to eat it almost as soon as you get it home. If you’ve ever cut open an avocado left it alone for a few minutes only to return to it becoming brown before your eyes, you know what I’m talking about. When you buy local foods you are getting them at the height of freshness leading to better tasting longer-lasting produce!

6. Locally grown foods are safer. Most local producers don’t use the same dangerous pesticides and herbicides used by commercial farmers. Additionally, because locally grown foods are sold in the same community they were grown in they don’t need to be treated with preservatives and other chemicals that commercial farmers use to preserve the lifespan of their produce. Be sure to ask your local growers if they use organic or natural pest repellents.

7. Buying local builds your community. Besides just keeping your money in the local community there are other community-related benefits as well. By buying locally you support small local farming businesses and help them grow. By supporting a small local farm you also help create new jobs in your community. You also help any businesses that the local farm supplies food to.

8. Buying locally is more nutritious. There are three simple reasons why locally grown food is more nutritious. First, there is a lack of chemicals like pesticides, herbicides, and preservatives that we mentioned earlier. Just removing those potentially cancer-causing chemicals from your food will make it more nutritious. The second reason local food is more nutritious is that it’s fresher than food that has been trucked in from across the country or flown in from the other side of the world. The third and final reason is that local food is seasonal. When you eat food that is grown and harvested within its natural season, it tastes better and is better for you!

9. Buying locally supports diet-related conditions. Because local food is not stored or transported with other foods, there is less chance of allergens contaminating the food. Buying local is also a great way for people with sensitivities to hormones, preservatives and other chemicals to eat delicious nutritious food without sacrificing their health.

10. Buying locally promotes genetic diversity. Many types of large-scale farm-grown produce use the same genetic strands. Much like the way Dalmations have birth defects due to a lack of genetic diversity, the same thing happens with crops leading to weaker less robust strands. With local farming, farmers are free to use a wide variety of different genetic strands on their farms. Using these different strands promotes greater genetic diversity and more robust crops. Additionally, local farmers can also raise a wide variety of animals on a small farm, which enhances biodiversity and provide more options to the consumer.

11. Locally grown food helps to preserve small farmland from overdevelopment! Overdevelopment is a major problem in urban areas! Every other block there is a Starbucks or CVS, but investing in local farming helps to protect farmland. If not for these local farms, those green spaces would be turned into another CVS or parking lot. Plus green spaces provide homes for a variety of planet and animal life that could otherwise be kicked out of their natural habitat.

Wow, those are a lot of amazing benefits that come with eating locally grown foods!

And if you’re interested in learning how you can start your own local farm, check out our Pure Greens Container farms!

Pure Greens Container Farms are fully assembled vertical hydroponic grow systems built-in 40 ft. insulated shipping containers.

Pure Greens can customize our freight container farms to the user’s specifications.

Each container farm comes with a user’s manual and a warranty for material and workmanship.

Head on over to Pure Greens: Hydroponic Shipping Container Farms, Gardens … and learn more!