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There’s a lot of hype about eating organic food these days, and for good reason. Organic food is better for the environment, and it’s usually better for your health. However, what people often overlook are the benefits of eating locally grown food.

Locally grown food has a number of advantages that organic food sometimes doesn’t. It’s often fresher, tastes better, and it’s even better for the environment than organic food (sometimes).

Of course, if you can get organic food that is also locally grown, you’ll be getting the best of both worlds. But, short of that, I would recommend choosing locally grown food before you choose organic. Below are a few reasons why.

photo credit: madame.furie

Locally Grown Food Tastes Better

Locally grown food will, as a general rule, taste better than food that’s been trucked in from another part of the country or, worse, flown in from another country (or continent!). The reason for this is simple: locally grown food is fresher.

Because locally grown food is, well, grown locally, it doesn’t take as long to reach your plate. This means that locally grown asparagus, for example, will be much fresher and much tastier than asparagus that has been imported from Peru. (Ed. Note: for those readers in the Edmonton area, check out the asparagus at the City Market on 104th Street; it’s the sweetest, tastiest asparagus you can get in this city.)

Locally Grown Food is Better for the Environment

While organic food is better for the environment than food that is grown using pesticides or growth hormones, if you’re buying organic food that was grown in another province, state, or country, the carbon footprint resulting from the transport of the food often cancels out any environmental benefits that may have been had.

Of course, if the locally grown food you’re buying is loaded up with chemicals that are harmful to the environment (and to your body), then it may be no better than the organic produce that was flown in from 2,000 kilometres away.

This is one case where is it best to try and educate yourself about the history of your food. If possible, try to buy local food that uses environmentally friendly pesticides (or none at all). This way, even if the food isn’t classified as organic, it will still have less environmental impact than the alternatives.

Locally Grown Food Supports Your Local Economy

In addition to being tastier and better for the environment, locally grown food is good for your community. When you buy locally grown food, your money is going to local farmers and ranchers. These people will, generally speaking, in turn spend their money buying goods and services from local merchants.

By buying locally grown food (or any locally produced goods, for that matter), you’re supporting your local economy. This may be especially important in North America right now. As the United States falls into a recession, and Canada worries if we might be next, supporting the local economy is one way of reducing the effect of a national recession in your local community.

Additionally, locally grown food is often produced by smaller operations who sell their goods at farmer’s markets, rather than huge factory farms. So, not only will you be helping the local economy, but you may also be helping a small family farm stay in business.

Additional Reading

For more information about the Local vs Organic debate, check out the following articles:

• Eating Better Than Organic
• Local or Organic? I’ll Take Both