pears, polaroid 660

10 reasons to buy local, from the cabbage hill farm foundation:

+ freshness: several studies have shown that the average distance food travels from farm to table is 1500 miles. in the delay, sugars turn to starches, plant cells shrink and produce loses its vitality. local food is most likely picked within the past day or two.

+ health: fresh produce loses nutrients quickly. food that is frozen or canned soon after harvest may be more nutritious than some ‘fresh’ produce that has been on the truck or supermarket shelf for a week.

+ no genetic modification: this is among a number of technologies which slow food proponents believe will diminish food safety and present unacceptable threats to public health with irreversible environmental impacts.

+ preservation: the landscape of crop fields, wildflower meadows and picturesque barns will survive only as long as farms are financially viable. when you buy locally grown food, you support the agricultural landscape.

+ supporting farmers: the farmer is a vanishing breed. local farmers who sell direct to consumers cut out the middleman and get full retail value for their products.

+ building community: when you buy from the farmer, you re-establish a time-honored connection between the eater and the grower.

+ preserving genetic diversity: in the modern industrial agricultural system, hybrid varieties are chosen for their ability to ripen simultaneously, withstand harvesting equipment and have a long shelf life. only a handful of hybrid varieties meet these demands. local farms, in contrast, may grow a large number of varieties. many are heirlooms – old varieties containing genetic material from hundreds and even thousands of years of human selection. these heirlooms may some day provide the genes needed to create varieties that will thrive in a changing climate.

+ the future: by supporting local farmers, you help ensure that there will be local farms tomorrow.