Monday, July 26, 2010

Will You Pledge To Eat 10% Local Food?

I eat local food primarily because it tastes better.

Store bought eggs pale in comparison to fresh, local eggs from happy free range chickens.

Local fruit and veggies are just tastier.

My whole life I thought I hated tomatoes. Turns out I just hate mass produced, conventionally grown tomatoes that are picked too early, travel thousands of miles to my supermarket, and get sprayed with ethanol before they sit on a shelf looking deceptively bright red. I recently started eating local tomatoes (many from the gardens of friends or from the market). They taste totally different to me! The distinction might not be as obvious to those more accustomed to the flavor. But to me it makes all the difference. I can even eat them raw with cheese and basil. YUM!

Buying locally also supports the local agricultural community/economy.

NC State Cooperative Extension and two local organizations are challenging North Carolinians (YOU) to get 10% of their food from local sources.




How can you do this?

  • You can buy fruit, veggies, herbs, eggs, poultry, cheese, meat, bread, wine and more from the state farmer's market.
  • Or you can buy from your local farmer's market.
  • You can join a CSA.
  • You can buy peanuts from Bertie County. They are soooo good and great as gifts.
  • Or you can even purchase some local items at area grocery stores.
  • And these are just a few suggestions, if you'd like more specific recommendations and places to check out, let me know.

Check out the NC 10% website to submit your pledge and for more information, resources and links.

2 comments:

  1. this is great..I really would love to eat locally..because it's fresher and sometimes lasts longer since it hasn't been sitting on a truck for a month. So...is going to any farmers market or stand better than a grocery store? I have no idea if they are "organic" or what they use, if anything, on their plants. But they have a stand somewhere so it appears better :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. If you are looking for local food, than yes, going to a farmer's market is better than going to a grocery store. Grocery stores typically don't carry local food, and if they do there isn't a very big selection, if any selection at all. But at a market you can see what's in season and browse the stands to pick the ones you think are best or cheapest.

    Buying something local does not mean it's organic. For an explanation and recommendations, refer to my previous post and comment:

    http://realisticnutrition.blogspot.com/2010/05/dirty-dozen-of-produce-to-buy-organic.html

    ReplyDelete