On choosing local and more sustainable ingredients…
In a world that has become globally linked, and often somewhat confusing, a search for a regional and local identity is emerging. The desire for traceable products is a by-product of a never-ending series of food scandals, and it comes alongside a growing ethical outlook that embraces organic food production, ethical consumption and a concern for animal welfare.
But the idea of local sourcing is one that has been around for a while.
What ‘Local’ means to us..
There’s no formal definition of the term local food. But one common definition of “local” food is food grown within 100 miles of its point of sale or consumption.
For us, it’s a little bit of everything — from how our food is produced, processed, distributed. It’s about how we integrate these elements together to enhance the economic, environmental and social health of a particular place where our food comes from. It’s in the ‘why’ we prefer to buy locally produced goods and services rather than those produced by more corporatised institutions - rather than solely a geographical area.
We are more about the sustainable of ‘how’ the food came to be — wanting to know more about the farming practices of the farmers that grow and produce the food - that’s what local means to us.
And for some people, “local” is more about the values of small-scale and community-based than about a specific geographic configuration. But it’s up to you to decide what buying local food means to you. Maybe it means foods grown and produced in your region or maybe it means that it comes from farmers you know and can talk to — for example, at a farmer’s market or at a local store.
Why local?
There are many reasons to eat locally, but let’s start with distance. When you eat locally, you are cutting back on the necessity of more resources. Let’s take water into consideration, for example. Water is key to the growth of produce and to have water, we need adequate rainfall and proper irrigation. Eating out of season and out-of-range means farmers have to ship produce further away, which exacerbates the issue.
Shipping produce from further away takes water from one farm and ships the water or crop to a different region. In addition to this, if you are growing out-of-season produce, it requires more resources and essentially more resources to “encourage” them to grow.
Eating locally also supports your local economy in a meaningful way. Farming takes a lot of resources, especially bodies and money. Local farmers, growers, artisans, purveyors, and restaurant-owners are needed to make locally grown foods work… or rather, sell. Since we, as consumers, have the ability to make important choices with where we spend and how we spend our money, supporting local businesses financially is a no-brainer. You vote every with your wallet every time you shop, and with knowledge comes the ability to support foods and growers you believe in.
In our capitalistic society, for a product and even a lifestyle. Choosing to spend your money locally ultimately helps to sustain local producers and keep smaller more shops / businesses open. Buying locally produced goods regularly increases the resilience of the economy of our local communities — helping to sustain them and create even more local jobs and opportunity.
This also helps ensure that there will be more local farms and small businesses in our community tomorrow. This is vital for our long-term food security, especially with an uncertain energy future and our current reliance on fossil fuels to produce, package, transport and store food.
Learn more about our projects and how we use local sourced ingredients at our events and workshops through here.
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