ON THIS PAGE:

• Why buy local food?
• Grow your own veggies
• Take Action! Find a local farm or farm market
• Is it in season?  A guide for consumers
• Featured Resources - The Meatrix II released
• In the News

WHY BUY LOCAL FOOD?

Although fewer than a million Americans works as farmers, each of us participates in the agricultural system at least three times each day. We examine the food we buy closely, looking for low sodium, fewer calories, more fiber, less cholesterol, complex carbs, mono-unsaturated fats, more protein or simply a good value.  Buy how much do we know about the food economy?  Where does our food come from?  Who is involved, who benefits, and who suffers?  Consider the following, from the Food Routes Network:

• Seventy-eight percent of all malnourished children under the age of five in the developing world live in countries with food surpluses - surpluses that are exported.
• In 1999, the median hourly wage for a US farmer was $6.05 with a median annual wage of $12,150, well below the current poverty level.
• Corporate agribusiness profits increased 98 percent during the 1990s; meanwhile, in 2002 farmers earned their lowest real net cash income since 1940.
• Just 10 percent of the fossil fuel consumed by the global food system is used in production.  The rest is consumed by packaging, transportation and marketing.
• The US has lost two-thirds of its farms since 1920.  We have also lost 93% of the lettuce varieties, 96% of sweet corn varieties and 95% of tomato varieties since the turn of the century.
• The average farm would show a $29/acre loss if the costs of soil degradation, water pollution and environmental hard from large scale, conventional farming were included.

There is an alternative.  When consumers purchase locally-grown food:

• More money foes directly to the farmer, keeping farms profitable and reducing sprawl.
• The local economy is strengthened and diversified.
• The environmental resources used to ship, package, store and artificially ripen food are vastly decreased.

WANT TO GROW YOUR OWN VEGGIES? 

TAKE ACTION! FIND A LOCAL FARM OR FARM MARKET

There are more than 3,100 farm markets in the United States. Chances are, there is one near you. To find out where you can shop for local, seasonally-available produces click the map to visit Local Harvest.

IS IT IN SEASON?  A GUDE FOR CONSUMERS

Learning what is in season in your area is a first step toward supporting the local food economy.  The changing list of foods available at your local farmers market adds texture to the seasons, and is a reward for your palate.  Click here for a fresh-food calendar for your area.

FEATURED RESOURCES

The Meatrix II: Revolting was released March 30, 2006.  Watch Moopheus, Leo and Chickity expose the deceit lurking behind the packaging of your dairy products.

Grist Magazine, an online environmental public ation, is publishing a new series on poverty and the environment.  One of the articles examines how subsidies result in healthy foods costing more than less-than-healthy alternatives.  Click here for the article.

Local Food Sources Directory for Greater Dayton, produced by the B-W Greenway Community.

The Glynwood Center has produced a guide to serving local food at conferences and other events.

National Catholic Rural Life Conference tools for making local food available community-wide.

Wal-Mart:The High Cost of Low Price by Brave New Films is available for lending to Marianist communities in DVD or VHS format. This documentary examines the impacts Wal-Mart has on local communities.  Email Tara Poling for information on borrowing the film.

Global Banquet: The Politics of Food by Maryknoll Productions is an engaging examination of the policies and problems associated with control of our food supply by international corporations.  This video is available for lending to members of Marianist world and is appropriate for local communities, Family of Mary groups, and high schools.  Comes with a studying guide.  For information on borrowing the video or DVD, contact Tara Poling.

The Worldwatch Institute has an online feature focusing on food, including a list of steps individuals can take to promote justice and sustainability with their food dollars.  The Institute has made a .pdf for Worldwatch Paper #163, Home Grown: The Case for Local Food in a Global Market available for free.

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