Why Buy Seasonal and Local Produce

Climate change, net carbon zero emissions, circular economy, upcycling. These are some of the words that are finally gaining attention on the news, social media and in politics. The fact that we need to change our behaviour as society is clear. The current modus operandi where we use the yearly available natural resources a few months into the year isn’t sustainable and it doesn’t guarantee our existence on this planet long-term. The good thing in this scenario is that the Earth will live on and eventually regenerate (just look at how Chernobyl is doing since people left). It is humanity that will go extinct.

So how do we get to enjoy this little beautiful planet of ours for longer? By changing our habits, and with that changing our demands from the businesses. It has become obvious that continuous growth and shareholders-value-unless pursuit won’t get us there. We need more ethical and sustainable investments. Companies have long enjoyed the status quo and exploited human and natural resources in the name of efficiency gains and cost cutting without much care about the environment or the society. Globalisation has created a complex (offshore) supply chain system with a plethora of participants adding to the end value, which brought down the costs of production and increased the availability of cheap(er) products and labour. But the price we pay for the product doesn’t show the real price the environment has to pay for it.

The government’s indicator for the health of the economy is the GDP, which measures the economic health of a nation by the value of the quantity of goods produced, not by the cleanliness and availability of air and water, the health of the soil, the biodiversity of ecosystems or the temperature of oceans — the elements that support and sustain the natural resources necessary to build products these corporations sell.

Y. Chouinard, Let my people go surfing

As much as businesses need to become responsible to their resource base rather than their shareholders, the consumers also have a big role to play in this. It is easy to point fingers at oil and gas companies, not that easy to give up the car or plastic products which are (one of the) sub-products of the same industry. The same goes for airlines — they could do more investments and innovation in cleaner aircrafts and fuels but are we willing to skip on that weekend trip just a flight away? Some are, but the majority (still) isn’t. In other words, it is also on us consumers to start buying better and less, and reusing and repairing more.

Buy Local

One other important element in this equation is what goes under the campaign Support Your Local. The dependency on foreign production lines (especially Asia) and the lack of local essential industries has shown its depth during the first global COVID19 lockdown. Buying local stimulates the local economy and supports your neigbours and friends rather than a big corporation profiting from cheaper skills and resources elsewhere. This applies to both goods and services, and people and the environment.

Buying local breaks the complex supply chains and near/offshoring of services, and brings the supply back home. In addition to that, being able to walk to the store and buy what you need yourself instead of getting it delivered avoids emissions caused by transport. This is even more important when we talk about fresh produce.

A staggering 30% of all global greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture. Animal farming (i.e. meat and diary industry) is one of the biggest producers of greenhouse gas emissions within the agricultural sector and also the cause of mass deforestation such as we’ve seen recently with the Amazon rainforest. A positive side of a higher environmental awareness among people is the number of consumers moving away from animal products and the general availability of more ethical and violence-free substitutes has drastically increased in comparison to just a few years ago.

Although meat and other animal product substitutes are a nice addition to the diet or a good first step for passionate meat eaters to reduce meat consumption, there is nothing more satisfying than creating and consuming dishes from fresh produce, especially the locally sourced ones. The latter is especially impactful. It means that there is less time and distance between the grower and the buyer. Not only does local food provide an excellent source of nutrition it is often cheaper because the food is in season so widely available without import costs. 

Buy Seasonal

Local food not only connects us to the local community but also to the cycles of nature and availability of fruits and vegetables depending on the season. Buying seasonal food is a great practice as it reduces reliance on un-seasonal food which requires lots of energy to grow and transport.

That all sounds fair and good but where do we start?

Farmers’ markets, farm shops, food co-ops and local bakeries are great places to explore food and drink grown in your community. Inform yourself what fruits and vegetables are in season in different month of the year or have a look at these cute food calendars that can help you make the right choice.

Every time you spend money, you’re casting a vote for the kind of world you want.

Anna Lappe

Make a change, one penny at a time.