A locally-produced diet is more sustainable than other diets

Ciancio, Aligi

O\u27Brien, Abigail

Rodriguez, Celina

English

SUNY Geneseo KnightScholar (State University of New York)

There’s just not enough land. In fact, theworld’s agriculture takes up about 35 to 40percent of all of the Earth’s land, astaggering sum, especially compared tocities and suburbs, which occupy less than 1percent of Earth’s land. (Foley)The proportion of the food pound or dollarreturning to farmers has shrunk. Fifty yearsago, farmers in Europe and North Americareceived between 45-60% percent of themoney that consumers spent on food.Today, that proportion has droppeddramatically to just 3.5% in the USA. (Pretty)The value of international food trade hastripled, and the tonnage of food shippedbetween nations has grown fourfold whilethe population has only doubled. In theUnited States, food typically travelsbetween about 1,500 to 2,500 miles fromfarm to plate, up to 25 percent farther thanin 1980. (Ayala)Global: ImpactsCompared to an organic diet local foodsoffer a wider variety of products, areseasonally available, maintain a closerelationship with the consumer, have apositive impact on the local community, anda short trip from the farm to the consumer.(Adams and Salois)Living off of one or two crops is neithereconomically sensible nor appetizing. As aresult, producers in local food systems notonly frequently adhere to the ideas of croprotation and polyculturalism, but alsointegrate crop and livestock production.(Shindelar)The ecological footprint of local foodproduction is reduced since there is asmaller supply chain and farmers handlestorage, packaging, transportation, anddistribution themselves. (Shindelar)Pros: of Local FoodsBy investing in locallysourced foods, we will becontributing to smallbusinesses, as well ashelping to protect theenvironment! Promotes Accountability: The consumer betterunderstands how and where their food is beingproduced. Many local food producers willactively pursue an organic certification as ameans of further improving the nutritional valueof their food and reducing their environmentalimpact. (Arrowquip)Keeps Taxes Down: Most local farm businessesaren’t dependent on social services likeschools and emergency services. (Arrowquip)When local farms are established, eating localprotects farmland. Without small-scale farms,the land might otherwise be developed forindustrial or commercial use. Additionally,farmland attracts other types of biodiversityand gives animals, insects, and birds a place tolive and thrive. (Arrowquip)Systematic: Impacts “For people with food sensitivities topreservatives, hormones or other foodchemicals, locally grown food is a greatoption. Locally grown food can help supportany possible digestion issues that peoplewith food allergies may experience withother types of food.” (Arrowquip)Eating locally encourages diversification oflocal agriculture and crop variety. This, inturn, reduces the reliance on monoculture;single crops grown over a wide area to thedetriment of soils. (Kay)Local foods reduce the chance of foodcontamination since there are fewer stepsfrom the farm to the fork. Food grownnearby reduces the chances of food safetyissues at harvesting, washing, packaging,and distribution.Personal: Impacts“Money remaining in a particular localizedeconomy does more work if it is recycledthrough the purchase of local goods andservices than if it leaks away to externaleconomies.” (Pretty)Local produce that had been picked hoursbefore is able to keep its nutritional valuebetter than globally produced goods thathad been picked days before selling.These local businesses enhance theproblem-solving capabilities of addressingpublic health concerns, and communitieswith a greater level of small businessestend to have greater levels of populationhealth. (Moses)Local: ImpactsLOCALLYPRODUCEDFOODSA MORE SUSTAINABLEAPPROACHLocal stores may not be able to provideproduce with the same variety andconsistency as bigger supply chain stores.Local products may not have the same shelflife as other products since they might notbe sprayed with pesticides andpreservatives. They also have a shorter shelflife because they are picked at the cusp ofripeness.Local food is more expensive compared tofood that is widely available atsupermarkets or grocery stores.Cons: of Local Foods  An estimation of the percentage of thepopulation that could be sustained entirely byfood grown by farms. (Breyer)REFENRENCES Adams, Damian C., and Matthew J. Salois. "Local versus Organic: A Turnin Consumer Preferences and Willingness-to-pay." RenewableAgriculture and Food Systems 25, no. 4 (2010): 331-41.http://www.jstor.org.proxy.geneseo.edu/stable/44491482. Arrowquip. “Top Benefits of Buying Locally Grown Food.” Arrowquip,June 6, 2017. https://arrowquip.com/blog/animal-science/top-benefits-buying-locally-grown-food Ayala, Sharon. “The Great Food Fight: Local vs. Global.” Viewpoint. PointLoma Nazarene University, August 18, 2020.https://viewpoint.pointloma.edu/the-great-food-fight-local-vs-global/.Breyer, Melissa. “90 Percent of US Could Live on Food Grown EntirelyWithin 100 Miles.” Treehugger, Dotdash, 25 Sept. 2020,www.treehugger.com/percent-us-could-live-food-entirely-grown-within-miles-4851755. Foley, Jonathan. “OPINION: Local Food Is Great, but Can It Go Too Far?”Ensia. The Macroscope. https://ensia.com/voices/local-food-not-always-environmentally-sustainable/. Kay, Stephanie. “The Benefits of Eating Local Food.” Stephanie Kay |Nutritionist &amp; Speaker. Stephanie Kay Nutrition 2020, October 5,2017. https://kaynutrition.com/the-benefits-of-eating-local-food/. Klavinski, Rita. “7 Benefits of Eating Local Foods.” MSU Extension.Michigan State University, September 20, 2018.https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/7_benefits_of_eating_local_foods. Moses, Rebecca. “Buying Local: Benefits, Methods, and Tips.”Groom+Style. Mediavine Food, May 14, 2020.https://groomandstyle.com/buying-local-benefits-methods-and-tips/. Pretty, Jules. “Some Benefits and Drawbacks of Local Food Systems.”Sustain. TVU/Sustain AgriFood Network, 2001.https://www.sustainweb.org/pdf/afn_m1_p2.pdf. Shindelar, Rachel. "The Ecological Sustainability of Local Food Systems."RCC Perspectives, no. 1 (2015): 19-24.http://www.jstor.org.proxy.geneseo.edu/stable/26241302. Made By:Aligi CiancioAbigail O’BrienCelina Rodríguez 

Locally Produced Foods

https://knightscholar.geneseo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1105&context=sustainability-curriculum-student

Locally Produced Foods

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