Every $1 spent on local food generates more than $2 in other local businesses. 

A head of lettuce, gown in California, and shipped nearly 5000 km to Washington D.C., requires about 36 times as much fossil fuel energy in transport as it provides in food energy when it arrives.

Anything that travels – including food – generates greenhouse gases, the main culprit in climate change, so the less distance something has to move to get to your mouth, the better. Buying local also means fewer chemicals to protect foods while they travel, which helps conserve precious farmlands and wildlife. 

The average meal travels 2400 km (1500 miles) from field to table. Local food is fresher and better for you than food shipped long distances because chemicals used to prevent mould and fungus growth during shipping are harmful to your health. Organic farming is better for the environment than conventional methods but importing organic produce from far away offsets some of the environmental benefits because all that traveling increases greenhouse gases. 

“When we were children, our parents taught us not to take candy from strangers. Now we buy food from faceless corporations and consume it without question.”