by Robert Freudenberg, Associate Planner, RPA
The other day, I wandered over to the nearby Union Square Greenmarket to buy an apple, bypassing the snack shop of our building where some grown in Washington State are sold.
Why would I pass by a perfectly fine looking apple right downstairs for a more expensive one a few blocks away? For a variety of reasons, that add up to making me personally healthier and happier, and I think the world around me as well. Let's look at my reasons, and see how my choice of buying a local apple was significant.
First of all, the homegrown apple, a Honey Crisp, simply tasted better. Less time spent on trucks on a cross country journey meant that a more delicate variety of apple could be grown and then picked closer to ideal ripeness. That's important.
Secondly, buying the local apple contributed to a more robust regional economy, which I count as an asset. The New York City greenmarket system, despite some shortcomings and unrealized potential, helps sustain close to 200 regional farmers and supports about 12,000 acres of cultivated farmland. The Council on the Environment of New York City (CENYC), which oversees the Greenmarket system, reports that each week in the peak season, more than 100 local restaurants buy ingredients from the farmers and more than 250,000 customers frequent the markets.
These customers are not limited to those with fat wallets. First of all, much of the produce, with some exceptions, is quite reasonably priced. Besides that, this past year the NYC Council started a pilot program that gives New Yorkers who receive food stamps even greater access to food at farmers' markets. This is in addition to the USDA's WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Program, which provides coupons redeemable at farmers' markets throughout the region.
Whether it's on reasonably priced rutabaga or a pricy lamb chop, by spending their dollars at Greenmarkets, food cooperatives, farm cooperatives (that often go under a program called Community Supported Agriculture) and other institutions that support local agriculture, home cooks, professional chefs and hungry office workers alike are pumping much needed dollars into our rural economy. Choosing the out-of-state foods, on the other hand, directs our dollars to a centralized distribution system made up of a complicated array of producers (farmers), middle-men (who take care of processing, packaging, storage, and distribution) and agribusiness corporations.
Thirdly, the flip side of bolstering a regional agricultural economy is curbing sprawl. According to CENYC, Greenmarket farmers have placed 1,277 acres of farmland into programs that protect land permanently from development. Our region is fortunate to have a variety of such programs including New Jersey and Connecticut's Department of Agriculture Farmland Preservation Programs, New York's Division of Agricultural Protection & Development program, as well as initiatives by groups like Scenic Hudson to protect farmland for any interested farmer. Keeping farming profitable is an essential part of such programs.
Fourthly, by buying the local apple I not only supported a farm with likely more sustainable practices, I probably helped to reduce other environmental impacts. The apple I purchased at the Greenmarket was grown on a farm located in Milton, New York in Ulster County, about 80 miles away. The Washington apple traveled 2,800 miles. Various academics have been studying what are known as "food miles." Researchers at Iowa State University's Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture (http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/pubs/
staff/files/food_travel072103.pdf) found that on average local produce traveled about 56 miles to reach its destination while conventional produce averaged about 1,494 miles.
By definition, transporting food greater distances increases traffic congestion, road wear, and accidents, and uses more fossil fuels leading to air pollution and climate change. In an ideal world, these costs would be reflected in the price of the apple, but that's not necessarily the case. While comprehensive evaluation is difficult, it's probably the case that buying local places less of a demand on our finite natural resources.
Finally, by buying local I may contribute to a safer, more stable food system. The recent slew of E. coli deaths and illnesses attributed to tainted spinach and perhaps other vegetables help shed light on a serious flaw in industrial agriculture: it is vulnerable. Growing monoculture crops at such a large scale means that food infected at a relatively low number of sources can impact the entire country's food supply. During the height of the spinach scare, I bought spinach from a local farmer without worry.
In summary, there are many benefits to buying food locally. But it is not a panacea. Buying all foods locally is neither desirable nor possible without seriously changing our diets. But in general, we can support a variety of worthwhile goals by directing our dollars to locally grown food, even while we should also work to build policies that support a more balanced food system overall. So the next time you're in the city and want to go shopping for some fruits and vegetables, maybe the question you should ask yourself is not "should I go to C-Town or Gristedes?" but rather "Tompkins Square or Union Square?"
The other day, I wandered over to the nearby Union Square Greenmarket to buy an apple, bypassing the snack shop of our building where some grown in Washington State are sold.
Why would I pass by a perfectly fine looking apple right downstairs for a more expensive one a few blocks away? For a variety of reasons, that add up to making me personally healthier and happier, and I think the world around me as well. Let's look at my reasons, and see how my choice of buying a local apple was significant.
First of all, the homegrown apple, a Honey Crisp, simply tasted better. Less time spent on trucks on a cross country journey meant that a more delicate variety of apple could be grown and then picked closer to ideal ripeness. That's important.
Secondly, buying the local apple contributed to a more robust regional economy, which I count as an asset. The New York City greenmarket system, despite some shortcomings and unrealized potential, helps sustain close to 200 regional farmers and supports about 12,000 acres of cultivated farmland. The Council on the Environment of New York City (CENYC), which oversees the Greenmarket system, reports that each week in the peak season, more than 100 local restaurants buy ingredients from the farmers and more than 250,000 customers frequent the markets.
These customers are not limited to those with fat wallets. First of all, much of the produce, with some exceptions, is quite reasonably priced. Besides that, this past year the NYC Council started a pilot program that gives New Yorkers who receive food stamps even greater access to food at farmers' markets. This is in addition to the USDA's WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Program, which provides coupons redeemable at farmers' markets throughout the region.
Whether it's on reasonably priced rutabaga or a pricy lamb chop, by spending their dollars at Greenmarkets, food cooperatives, farm cooperatives (that often go under a program called Community Supported Agriculture) and other institutions that support local agriculture, home cooks, professional chefs and hungry office workers alike are pumping much needed dollars into our rural economy. Choosing the out-of-state foods, on the other hand, directs our dollars to a centralized distribution system made up of a complicated array of producers (farmers), middle-men (who take care of processing, packaging, storage, and distribution) and agribusiness corporations.
Thirdly, the flip side of bolstering a regional agricultural economy is curbing sprawl. According to CENYC, Greenmarket farmers have placed 1,277 acres of farmland into programs that protect land permanently from development. Our region is fortunate to have a variety of such programs including New Jersey and Connecticut's Department of Agriculture Farmland Preservation Programs, New York's Division of Agricultural Protection & Development program, as well as initiatives by groups like Scenic Hudson to protect farmland for any interested farmer. Keeping farming profitable is an essential part of such programs.
Fourthly, by buying the local apple I not only supported a farm with likely more sustainable practices, I probably helped to reduce other environmental impacts. The apple I purchased at the Greenmarket was grown on a farm located in Milton, New York in Ulster County, about 80 miles away. The Washington apple traveled 2,800 miles. Various academics have been studying what are known as "food miles." Researchers at Iowa State University's Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture (http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/pubs/
staff/files/food_travel072103.pdf) found that on average local produce traveled about 56 miles to reach its destination while conventional produce averaged about 1,494 miles.
By definition, transporting food greater distances increases traffic congestion, road wear, and accidents, and uses more fossil fuels leading to air pollution and climate change. In an ideal world, these costs would be reflected in the price of the apple, but that's not necessarily the case. While comprehensive evaluation is difficult, it's probably the case that buying local places less of a demand on our finite natural resources.
Finally, by buying local I may contribute to a safer, more stable food system. The recent slew of E. coli deaths and illnesses attributed to tainted spinach and perhaps other vegetables help shed light on a serious flaw in industrial agriculture: it is vulnerable. Growing monoculture crops at such a large scale means that food infected at a relatively low number of sources can impact the entire country's food supply. During the height of the spinach scare, I bought spinach from a local farmer without worry.
In summary, there are many benefits to buying food locally. But it is not a panacea. Buying all foods locally is neither desirable nor possible without seriously changing our diets. But in general, we can support a variety of worthwhile goals by directing our dollars to locally grown food, even while we should also work to build policies that support a more balanced food system overall. So the next time you're in the city and want to go shopping for some fruits and vegetables, maybe the question you should ask yourself is not "should I go to C-Town or Gristedes?" but rather "Tompkins Square or Union Square?"
@RegionalPlan