Introduction
The following is a list of 10 reasons to grow and eat home-grown food. Eating locally is not only good for you; it's good for everyone in your community!
1. Eating local means supporting the local economy.
There are at least two ways of eating more locally
a) Grow your food in your back yard or/and patio. You can grow vegetables and blueberries. To eat more healthy and save money. You can even use blueberries as border plants in any part of the yard to both beautify it and have an eatable landscape. Working in the soil is a healthy and a beneficial exercise.
b) Join a Community Supported Agriculture CSA program in your community. Many farms offer produce subscriptions, where buyers receive a weekly or monthly basket of products such as, flowers, fruits, vegetables, eggs, milk, or any sort of different farm products.
2. Locally grown produce travels fewer miles to the consumer and is fresher.
Food you purchase at the grocery store on average travels over 1200 miles from where it is grown to where it is sold to the consumer. One study reported that produce arriving by truck traveled an average distance of 1,518 miles to reach Chicago in 1998. With energy prices increasing this in turn increases the cost of food. Locally grown food is both fresher and saves on the use of energy. This travel time means it has been in transit or cold-stored for days or weeks before reaching you. It is not as fresh and in nutritional value which declines with time.
3. Local organically grown food has superior taste .
Locally grown organic food free of pesticides not only taste better it is more healthy and rich in vitamins. You do not have to be concerned about pesticides when you grow your own and control what is put on the plant and in the soil.
4. Locally grown fruits and vegetables can ripen on the plant .
Locally grown products such as blueberries and vegetables can ripen on the plant rather than after they are picked and processed and shipped. Blueberries that ripen on the plant are sweeter. Having different blueberries that ripens through the season is a way to have fresh blueberries all season..
5. Eating local produces less pollution.
Growing your own products and not using toxic chemicals to kill bugs is better and reduces pollution of the soil. The better way to control bugs is using natural means and enriching your soil with compost and aerobic compost tea. Using compost and making and using aerobic compost tea is one of the best ways to enrich your soil which in turn will help control insects and disease. Aerobic compost tea is full of beneficial microorganisms needed by the soil.
It is reported that the many miles that organic foods often travel to reach our plate causes environmental damage that outweighs the benefit of buying organic.
6. Growing your own and buying local food helps keep us in contact with nature. .
Growing your own and buying local food is a good way to stay in touch with nature and eating a variety of foods that are available during the different seasons. By planting early season, mid-season and late-season ripening blueberry plants you can have fresh blueberries throughout the growing season. You can also freeze your extra produce for later use in the winter months.
7. Growing your own and buying locally grown food is a way to build relationships and for a wonderful stories of your experiences.
You can share some of your extra produce with friends and neighbors and strengthen relationships with them. You can even take some of you excess to food to shelters to help feed the homeless.
8. Food with less distance to travel from where it was produced to the consumer has less vulnerability to harmful contamination.
With the threat of bio-terrorism always a possibility growing you own produce helps shield you from that threat.
Most urban areas will allow you to raise a few hen chickens in your back yard. Two to four is all you need to have all the eggs you want depending on the size of your family. One hen can produce about 300 eggs a year.
9. Local food translates to more variety and can save you money.
Local fresh food not only provides more variety throughout the season. If you grow your own blueberries and vegetables you cannot only eat more healthy food but can also save money in your budget. This is becoming more and more important as energy cost and food prices rise.
10. Supporting local growers helps support sustainable landimprovement.
Eating and purchasing your food from local providers such as Community Supported Agriculture CSA strengthens the community in which you live. It supports sustainable farming methods.
Conclusion
Grow your own produce and blueberries. This can help you eat healthier, and support your local economy. Purchase your pesticide free blueberry plants from a reputable source.
