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Support your local growers.
Shipping foods long distances uses more packaging, fuel, and refrigerant chemicals. Small growers can’t compete with national corporations, one reason family farms have been disappearing.
You can reverse this trend by buying local. You may be surprised to find that there are farms close to you. Some of these are part of Community Supported Agriculture, small farms that sell shares or subscriptions in their crops. Others are part of Urban Agriculture, where city-dwellers convert vacant lots or rooftops into growing fields. Or maybe your own neighbors are growing food in their back yards.
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Unlike huge industrial agriculture, small local farmers can choose to keep the earth healthier. Smaller plots attract fewer pests and therefore need less pesticides than huge monoculture plantings do. There’s less loss and waste because distances between field and customer are shorter. Local produce uses much less gasoline and refrigeration to transport.
And don’t forget about another endangered species – farmers! Organic and sustainable agriculture are lifesavers for some of them. The small farmers who buck the trend toward industrialization – especially if they want to avoid chemicals – benefit from the popularity of organic foods, community supported agriculture, and farmers’ markets.