Why local?

I eat locally because it completely changed the way I see food. Before I became a locavore, I saw food the way most supermarkets present it – a price. I never once stopped to think of where that food came from or if it was in season. I like to know how my food was grown and how the animals were treated. Large-scale food producers may be more efficient, but they are much less transparent to the average consumer.

I eat locally because knowing where the food came from helped me get more in tune with nature. When I see a non-tropical food, one that could be grown in the Northwest, from the Southern Hemisphere, I know it’s probably not in season.

I eat locally because buying produce from the farmers’ market, as any good locavore would do, has given me an education. What’s selling is what’s in season. And what’s in season in December, for example, forces you to expand your culinary horizons. After all, you just don’t come across kohlrabi and Jerusalem artichokes everyday. Not only that, my farmers’ market inspires a sense of community – people who value local farmers and delicious fruits and vegetables that were not engineered or grown just to be transported.

I eat locally because it supports my local economy. I love this state and I want it to thrive. If a food can be grown in the Northwest, I want to eat it from the Northwest when it’s naturally intended to be eaten. Maybe we can get blueberries from Argentina in the winter, but as I’ve discovered, nothing tastes better than the beautiful fresh ones you pick right off the bush. The fact that it has inspired me to transform my yard into my own local food source goes without saying. It has made me more aware of the choices I make everyday. I may never know what effects my new green lifestyle has on the environment, but I can say for certain that it has definitely had a positive impact on my life.