Day Twenty-Four: Buying Local & Sustainable

In just about every city, you can find local, sustainable agriculture. It comes in the form of produce markets, farmers markets, vegetable co-ops, and clean meat ranchers that sell in bulk or at meat markets. This photo was from my trip today to the local produce market with my step-mother where limes are sold 10 for $1.

Why do I like buying at these sorts of places? There are a number of reasons. I find them to be cheaper than Albertsons. We get to commune with other people who find it important to eat healthy. They're next to you commenting on how good the pomegranates look. That builds our network. At a farmer's market, you'll often meet the person who grew your tomatoes, carrots, and celery. That puts a level of trust in your food system that you can't find in bagged spinach. We tend to buy more in these environments, and that makes for healthier snacks and an abundance of fruits & veggies that we want to eat before they go bad. That's encouragement & reinforcement of positive behaviors. Often, this food wasn't trucked from half-way across the country, but rather grown locally. This contributes to a more sustainable, green-friendly, global environment.

If you've never been to one of these or joined a co-op, it may be out of your comfort zone at first. It also may be difficult to find, & you might have to do some digging in your community to find them. That's okay, we're changing our life through eating right & so a lot of things will be out of our comfort zone initially. In the end, the investment of your time & energy will be worth it. The best bonus is that there's no frozen pizza aisle at an open-air market.

Do: Visit the site http://www.eatwellguide.org/ to find local sustainable food through a zip code search. Visit a produce market that sells local produce, & visit a meat market that sells locally raised clean, unadulterated meat. Ask people you know that are into these types of things, they'll be excited to educate you on where to go. If you're feeling really bold, join a veggie co-op.