Essay on Eating Locally

Why We Should Eat Locally It isnt any secret that the United St consumes is in a state of comparatively bad health, only if most Americans arent entirely aware of the general global and personal impact of the way we deplete. By corporatizing the distribution of nigh all of our provender resources, we are increasingly contributing to global demise with every aliment item we purchase. Barbara Kingsolver, American author and expert in biology, asserts, Each food item in a typical U. S. meal has traveled an average of 1,500 miles. If every U. S. itizen ate just one meal a week composed of locally and organically raised meats and produce, we would castrate our countrys oil consumption by over 1. 1 million barrel of oil every week. The impact of our eating habits is astounding. The way we distribute food lends itself to the destruction of our planet and resources, the widening gap between the rich and poor, suspense about food quality, and most importantly the health of our ci tizens. By overpowering more than local foods, we can stimulate our communities, conserve energy and turn over fall in health for our country as a whole.The safety of what we eat is the number one concern among those who worry about factory-produced food. In send to produce as much product as possible, factory animals are pumped full of hormones and antibiotics. Likewise, our fruits and vegetables are genetically modified and sprayed with insecticides. These chemicals have injurious effects on our health and are ruining our food for no background other than corporate profit. The only way to avoid our vulnerability to these things is to either defile organic food or buy it locally. native foods are the most rapidly growing segment of our food industry, manifold in growth every few years (Ikerd).Unfortunately, Organic food from supermarkets is just another big business which contributes to eliminating earth resources and often misleads consumers with its claims. If more peo ple began eating locally, we would decrease the resources we use for transportation and completely disdain our uncertainty about where our food comes from and whats in it. Another reason to support local farms is that it would stimulate local economies and increase our personal obligation in the world. Instead of shipping our jobs off to corporate farms, we could create jobs in our own ackyard. Not only would we be able to create jobs, but overall sustainability in our local communities. Today, farmers only get about 20% of the money for their products because the rest is spent on transportation and packaging (Muren). If we ate locally, farmers would depress to earn the true value of their products and eliminate the need for a middle man. John Ikerd, professor of Agriculture at the University of Missouri, argues that people who buy their food from local farms are also more likely to blackleg locally for other items, further stimulating local economy.Like all changes, the indust rialization of our food came about one farmer at a time. In the same way, the road to change begins with each individual consumer (Ikerd). If Americans begin buy their fruits, vegetables, meat and dairy products from local farms, our country can move toward better overall health, economic sustainability, and decrease our contribution to the destruction of the planet. If we want to begin solving the biggest problems in our society, a good way to start would be to focus on and perfect how we obtain of one of our most staple fibre needs, food.