Throughout the semester I have been researching the affects of buying locally grown food. The advantages and disadvantages of local food vs. factory farming is a popular topic of discussion globally because it not only has affects on our health, but on the economy as well. The reason I picked this topic is because I feel many people are not aware of the environmental impact of not eating or buying locally grown food. Oil, coal, and natural gas are collectively known as fossil fuels and are main resources for the United States Transportation System (USTS). Today, eighty-five percent of all energy produced in the Unites States comes from burning these fuels and most, comes from the USTS. The average American consumes food that travels of 1,500 miles before it reaches their plate (Laker). Eating locally would drastically decrease the amount of burning fossil fuels that are polluting the atmosphere. Another downfall of not supporting local agriculture is the health affects that come directly from factory farmed food. By supporting food produced by the local farmers automatically reduces harmful health and environmental affects while promoting a sustainable agriculture process that provides various benefits (Hamilton). Factory farming ruins family farms, increases food-borne illness from pesticides, causes damager to the environment and is the main factor behind animal suffering.
Corporate owned monocultures cause both health and environmental problems. Even though not all regions have the natural resources to produce a thriving local food system, the ideas of sustainable agriculture, fresh seasonal food, and fair-trade operations could easily be adapted so long as there is willingness to change. The average item you buy at a chain grocery store travels far distances, most of the time being across the country or even the ocean. U.S agriculture as currently practiced emits a total of 1.5 trillion pounds of CO2 annually into the atmosphere. Because local food doesn’t travel long distances when it is locally grown, the producers are able to use less gas and fossil fuels as well as decreasing CO2 emissions in their transportation.
The take-over of agriculture globally by factory farms has allowed a larger number of animals to be produced more quickly and for less money. “Faster, fatter, bigger, cheaper.” Anemia, influenza, intestinal diseases, pneumonia, and scours are only the beginning of a long list of ailments coming from eating animals raised in factory farms (HFA). To keep the 7 billion people in the world fed, our agricultural system consumes enormous quantities of fuel, fertilizers and pesticides to produce the grains, meat and poultry, and fruits and vegetables. Diet related diseases account for hundreds of thousands of premature deaths each year. According to the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the chemicals and pesticides that are exposed to the farm workers has made them develop chronic lung disease and tuberculosis. An interview I had with Dave Adams, a local Vermont organic turkey farmer said, "The reason I got in this business is because eating turkey from a normal grocery store makes me sick" ("A Word From the Farmer"). He said that he can taste the difference and differentiate the freshness.
Here, lies the real issue. Why should we care? An upsetting amount of people I’ve talked to about this issue doesn’t. A lot of these people are just uneducated about the issue, which is the worst part. A lot of media that is put out about these issues is blocked or not scene. If people knew and were aware of the environmental impact, health affects or animal mistreatment, many more would be willing to support the local farm. I’ve also found that some others feel as though there is no hope, no solution, so there is no reason to try. We, the average people, are the ones in control of our money. We choose to support the businesses and corporations that we want. If we support chain grocers and factory farms, than that is the food that is going to sell. But if we raise this issue and make it next to impossible not to be aware of all the terrible issues that come from factory farms, we can change who we support.
There are also a number of economical reasons we should support local farms. The “locavore” movement is about much more than tender plucked carrots and juicy red tomatoes. It’s about transforming and democratizing the food system. I’ve learned that one of the reasons people don’t buy locally grown food is that it is more expensive than any other grocery stores, which is true. But the movement is bout making it so high-quality and nutrient-rich food affordable and available to all people. If we were to pay the local farmers the real cost of production, we could keep more small farms sustainable. By supporting farms within a 100-mile distance to us, we support our local economy.
Here’s another thing, most people don’t do things or are involved in activities that try and harm the environment, so why are we now? Confinement at high stocking density requires antibiotics and pesticides to mitigate the spread of disease by the crowded living conditions, and they don’t disappear. They pollute not only our soil but also our water systems all over the country. A well-managed family farm is a place where the resources of fertile soil and clean water are valued. Nutrients that are taken from the soil by growing crops are replaced. According to the Farmers Market Association, farmers who practice conservation tillage could cut 12-14% of the carbon emitted by vehicles (Food, Inc.). Also, the habitat of the farm like the fields, woods, ponds and building provide a living environment for many species of wildlife.
If an animal is treated well, it can exhibit its natural behaviors. Cows, for example, are grass-feeding animals. At factory farms and large-scale monocultures, a cow never gets the opportunity to eat grass. They are fed corn and grain with countless pesticides and steroids so they grow bigger and fatter, faster. Hogs’ tails and chickens’ beaks are partially cut off. Egg laying hens are squeezed into small cages. Chickens spend their short lives in sheds crammed with tens of thousands of birds, never being able to see the sunlight. Along with cows, these animals also are poisoned with food that is not natural for their species. Animal welfare activists have documented many examples of mistreatment of animals prior to slaughter. Not only are the animals poisoned and treated badly, vegetables are as well. The reason why we can walk into a super-grocery store and see hundreds of plump red tomatoes is because we spray and grow them in chemicals. Typically when vegetables are picked, they are not ripe and still a shade of green. On the 1,500-mile journey to get that food where it needs to be, it is treated and continues to grow after picked, unnaturally.
One of the most obvious benefits of buying locally produced food is putting consumer’s money back into the local economy (Macias). What we need to do, as a country and globally is not be scared to change. Change is what is going to make improvements on the way we live and make it more sustainable. I believe that a number of people are scared when a movement could lean towards socialism. The wall between social classes is very prominent in some people’s lives and I think that supporting local economies and helping out Dave the farmer creates more opportunity for him and that industry. But by doing so, that money is circulated in your local economy and benefitting everybody around you.
Get involved! Community-supported agricultures allow individuals and families to buy a share of local farms. In return for the base fee for the share in the farm, shareholders receive a certain amount of food each week, usually enough for a family of four (Macias, 2008, p. 1092). With more and more towns implementing ideas such as community farms, more people will have healthy and locally grown fresh food more readily available. As consumers, we have most control over which industry to support: we have the money. Spending it in the right place helps the local farming industry and promotes living a healthier, more nutritious lifestyle.
Another thing you can do to support local agriculture is join a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). A CSA allows the consumer to be responsible for some of the initial costs of the products. The consumer pays for the cost of the products up front before the growing season starts. Then the farmer buys what he needs and provides the consumers with the products that they paid for at a rate that they can consume (“CSAware”). Even if a CSA does not interest you, there are a number or ways you can make a change. Even buying seasonally helps encourage people to eat fresh and properly. We need to learn, understand and appreciate the significance of our local food system.
Did you know? The Center for Disease Control estimates that every year 76 million Americans get sick, more than 300,000 are hospitalized, and 5,000 die from food borne illnesses (CDC 2002). With the explosion of interest in local food, consumers now have more choices of products, labels, and ways to shop, so, many people are left wondering where to start. Food choices can be overwhelming, and changing where and how we shop can be stressful. On the other hand, the benefits of buying local can be great. With global warming as the biggest environmental issue of our time --and the threat of consuming the world’s oil within our lifetimes, it’s important to note that the average food travels 1,500 miles before it reaches your plate.
We need to act: we, together need to adapt and change. Local farmers are working hard to make it so we have fresh, quality food for us and our families to consume, yet we still continuously support people who are poisoning our bodies, mistreating animals and polluting with out remorse. The consumers are the most powerful people to solve the issue. We, as consumers, need to think and act responsibly. Buy fresh, buy local!
Works Cited
1. Laker, Susie. "How Far Does Your Food Travel?" Green Community Project. 25 Mar. 2008. Web. 31 Oct. 2011.Most food that the average American consumes travels over 1,500 miles before it reaches their plate. It's important to try not and eat or eat less of the things that we clearly can not make in this country, things like: bananas, avocados and mangos. Locavores learn to be content with shopping for and consuming seasonal foods.
2. Hamilton, Morgan. "A Rotten Food System: How the Local Food Movement Is Creating Alternatives." Goldstein Report 2. Http://easybib.com/cite/form/journal/pubtab/pubdatabase. University of Louisville. Web.
Advocates of the local food movement argue that a food production system based on corporate-owned monocultures, or large scale farms specializing in certain products cause various health and environmental problems for the entire world. They note that by supporting food produced by local farmers automatically reduces harmful health and environmental effects while promoting a sustainable agriculture process that provides various benefits.
3. Macias, Thomas. (2008). “Working Toward a Just, Equitable, and Local Food System: The Social Impact of Community-based Agriculture.” Social Science Quarterly. Volume 89, Number 5. (pp. 1086-1101).
Community farms have many benefits such as supporting the local economy and eating fresh, healthy food. To implement this idea: having a local farm would make it so many people can plant and grow their own food.
4. Center for Informed Food Choices. FAQ page. www.informedeating.org (October 21, 2008).
There are numerous health benefits that come from eating local produce and dairy. Because many small farmers depend on a diverse rotation of crops they often don’t have to rely on the use of pesticides and chemicals.
5. Humane Farming Association. "Wildlife Rescue." Welcome to Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation! Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation, Inc. Web. 02 Nov. 2011.
Anemia, influenza, intestinal diseases, mastitis, metritis, orthostasis, pneumonia, and scours are only the beginning of a long list of ailments plaguing animals in factory farms.
6. Berry, Wendell, and Michael Pollan. Bringing It to the Table. ; On Farming and Food. Berkely: Counterpoint, 2009. Print.
Markets for alternative kinds of food - local and organic and pastured- are thriving, farms' markets are popping up everywhere. Now, the country is not well farmed. The local farms are very few and far between, and the gap is increasingly getting larger every year.
8. "A Word From the Farmer." Interview by Nicole Durivage. 19 Nov. 2011. Print.
In the interview I learned what Dave Adams, a local turkey farmer from Westford, Vermont. I heard what he had to say about where and who to support, how he felt about how the food system works today.
9.Food, Inc.. Dir. Robert Kenner. 2008. DVD.
I've watched this movie a number of times, and each viewing I walk away with different information. It is an informative documentary style film. For my paper, I took what some of the farmers said in the video. There was a scene in the movie where they tried to get into a factory chicken farm to see the inside and were turned away.
10. "CSAware." Local Harvest / Farmers Markets / Family Farms / CSA / Organic Food. Local Harvest. Web. 04 Dec. 2011.
I read about how and what a CSA is at this cite. It is helpful to use to find a CSA or an organization like one near you.
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