Here are ten ways to eat locally while reducing your carbon footprint

Eric Garrett
3 min readMar 7, 2023

These days, it’s all the rage to focus on what’s in season close to home. There are many positive outcomes for people’s health, the economy, and the environment when food is produced in close proximity to where it will be consumed. Fewer trips equal less carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles. It also aids in lowering the energy required for farming. It has been said that eating locally can reduce energy costs. That isn’t a panacea for the world’s energy problems, though.

When you eat locally, you buy your produce from nearby farms rather than from far away. Thus, less energy is consumed and fewer pollutants are released during transportation.

When you shop locally, you reduce the amount of resources needed to bring your food from farm to table, including fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions. This also aids in preserving the food’s freshness and prevents illness from contamination.

Purchasing a CSA share is a great way to show your support for local farms. Your door may be the first stop for these shares. For low-income families, several CSAs provide SNAP and subsidized shares.

One easy approach to reducing your carbon footprint and helping your community is to stock up on fresh fish from nearby waters. To accomplish this, simply visit your neighborhood grocery store or seafood market.

Your fishmonger will probably know where and how the fish was caught if you buy seafood that was caught close to home. This ensures that you’ll receive it at its peak freshness.

Purchasing local meat is a fantastic way to reduce carbon footprints and save money on utilities. To add to the benefits to your health and the environment, this practice also helps you cut back on processed meats.

The local food movement promotes the consumption of foods produced within a radius of one hundred miles of a consumer’s home. While this has good intentions, it shouldn’t be assumed that it will have any more positive impact on the environment than food grown further away.

It’s simple to save on energy expenditures by purchasing local dairy products. Vitamins, minerals, and enzymes are abundant in it.

The Eat Local trend advocates cutting down on the number of kilometers food must travel before reaching your plate. While transportation does contribute significantly, it only accounts for a fraction of the total carbon footprint of food.

Eggs are a simple method to increase your consumption of regional fare. Fresh eggs from hens who were treated well and grown humanely are a tasty source of protein and key vitamins, but it’s crucial to be sure you’re eating the right kind.

Eggs from pastured hens are better for you and taste better, too. They have additional environmental benefits.

If you suffer from itchy eyes and sneezing due to seasonal allergies, local honey may help.The theory is that immunizing yourself against the pollen in your area might be as simple as consuming local honey.

Unfortunately, there is scant evidence to back up this hypothesis. On the contrary, it resembles a traditional folk treatment.

If you want the freshest bread possible, don’t buy it from across the country or the world; buy it from the bakery down the street. There will be less food wasted and more money kept within the community.

As a result of using locally grown grains that are processed right in their shops, bakeries can thrive in many areas. Farmers are able to sell more food items like beef, bread, and cheese because of this.

A cup of coffee is an integral element of many people’s morning ritual. Nonetheless, it has the potential to consume a lot of power.

You can save a lot of money on transportation costs by switching to locally roasted coffee instead of beans sent in from elsewhere. In doing so, you’ll be doing good for the environment and the people around you at the same time. In addition to benefiting the world and your health, your action will also help preserve wildlife.

Most people can save the most energy by eating less. That’s true for many, but if you have a sweet craving, it can be simpler than you think to indulge in some of the local treats. Happily, you can control your cravings for sweets with the help of a number of tasty and innovative solutions. The ones I’ve included here are only examples.

--

--

Eric Garrett

Eric J. Garrett is a pioneer in the local and seasonal food movement in Washington.