The third item under our previous 5 Eco Tips for Summer, is that of utilizing your local Farmer’s Markets. It’s not only what we eat collectively that has an environmental impact but also in how our food is processed and transported that leaves a carbon trail.

Eating as local as you can, just really makes sense. The less your food has to travel to get to the store, the less chemical processing it will have to go through. The further a food has to travel the more chemicals are used to keep the food “fresh” and the more oil, gasoline and manpower is extended in the transportation process.

For example, while I was living in Maine I noticed that at the local grocery store had blueberries being sold that were from Guatemala. Why the store did not carry locally grown blueberries, I have no idea but the implication of purchasing those store bought blueberries was that they would certainly be chemically treated and they also had traveled part of the world to get to the produce section of my local store.

When you begin to buy organic local foods through Farmer’s Markets and food co-op’s you are making a choice to eat healthier and leave less of an impact on the local and global environments. The more people start to buy local, the more support local farmers will have and that will result in more local and organic food being available.

Although, many places have well established Farmer’s Markets and food co-ops you may be asking yourself how to go about finding such resources in your area. The following links will provide that information to help you consume locally.

• Local Harvest: Provides farmer’s market and co-op listings with reviews across the United States. You can look up by food type and buy location.
• Farmer’s Market Search: Provides organic market locations through the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
• California Certified Farmer’s Markets
• Certified Farmer’s Markets in the UK

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