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Boston, MA 02215
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Healthy and Sustainable Food

Eating for Your Health and the Environment

The following are a few reasons why eating local and sustainable food is healthier for you and the environment:

Food that is grown and harvested locally is usually given more time to ripen, increasing its nutrient value.
Eating sustainably-grown crops reduces the potential human health and environmental consequences of pesticides.
The greater the distance food has to travel to the consumer, the greater the contribution to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.
Buying local food encourages farmers to diversify their crops. Diversity in the fields decreases vulnerability to pests, extreme weather, and disease.
In addition, purchasing local food benefits your local economy.

“Is Local More Nutritious?” It Depends

The nutritional superiority of local food is an increasingly common claim. But is it true? The answer depends on a number of factors. By the time fruits and vegetables reach your kitchen counter – whether from a stall at a local farmers market, or the supermarket produce department – their ultimate nutritional quality is determined by : the specific variety chosen, the growing methods used, ripeness when harvested, post harvest handling, storage, extent and type of processing, and distance transported. So, the vitamin and mineral content of fruits and vegetables depends on decisions and practices of people all along the food system – from seed to table – whether or not that system is local or global.

While all of the factors affecting nutritional quality of fruits and vegetables – crop variety, production method, post-harvest handling, storage, and processing and packaging – apply equally to produce that is produced locally or on farms across the country, relying on local sources for your produce needs has some distinct advantages. The relatively short transit time in distribution for local produce is hard to beat. When choosing varieties destined for local markets, farmers tend to favor taste, nutrition and diversity over shipability. For direct and local marketing strategies, produce is usually sold within 24 hours after harvest, at its peak freshness and ripeness. Along a short local distribution chain, produce is likely handled by fewer people, decreasing potential for damage. In the Northeast, diets based on foods available locally can be nutritionally adequate year-round. This guide can provide you with information regarding the delicious seasonal foods of the Northeast.

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Healthy and Sustainable Food Eating for Your Health and the Environment

Healthy and Sustainable Food

Eating for Your Health and the Environment