How much does eating locally-produced food help the climate problem? What are the other potential environmental and social benefits of eating locally-grown/produced food? Do you have a food garden in your school or at home? If not, do you want one?
Home Grown
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Everyone should have a small vegetable garden to avoid constantly buying fruit and vegetables from large producers who use products that pollute the environment to make them grow and last longer.
Eating locally-produced food can significantly contribute to find a solution to the climate crisis and has various environmental and social benefits. Firstly, consuming seasonal, local products reduces the carbon footprint associated with transportation and storage. When food doesn't have to travel long distances to reach consumers, it decreases gas emissions which helps mitigate climate change.
Secondly, individuals who have the means, such as those who live in rural areas, can cultivate their own vegetables. Growing your own food not only allows you to reduce the amount of processed and industrial products, but also reduces the need for synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, which can cause issues to the ecosystems and contribute to pollution.
Having a food garden can offer a deeply rewarding experience, my grandfather for example has a garden and he is constantly cultivating vegetables not only for himself but also for me. When I eat the vegetables he grows, I immediately notice the difference in taste and freshness compared to the ones i buy at the supermarket.
In conclusion,preferring locally-produced, seasonal food can have a huge impact on the environment and on personal well-being. By growing a personal garden or supporting local farmers, each of us can play a role in promoting a more sustainable food system.
Transportation Emissions: By growing your own plants, you can eliminate greatly reduce the need for transportation emissions associated with bringing food from far-away farms to your table. This means less fuel burned, and fewer greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere.
Localized Production: When you grow your own plants, you're essentially creating localized food production system. This reduces the reliance on long-distance transportation networks, which contribute to carbon emissions.
Sustainable Practices: Many home gardeners prioritize sustainable gardening practices, such as composting organic waste and using natural fertilizers. These ways not only improve soil health but also help sequester carbon in the soil, further reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Promotion of Biodiversity: Home gardens often feature a wide range of plant species, which can support local ecosystems and contribute to biodiversity conservation. Healthy ecosystems play an important role in Trapping carbon and making climate change not as bad.
I agree! ?
I also agree because growing our own vegetable garden reduces food miles, minimizing carbon emissions. It also cuts down on packaging waste, promoting a cleaner environment. By cultivating diverse crops, we support biodiversity and ecosystem health. Organic gardening practices decrease chemical usage, preserving soil and water quality. Healthy soils act as carbon sinks, mitigating climate change. Taking care of a garden fosters a deeper connection with nature, promoting environmental management. Overall, home gardening contributes to a healthier planet and a more sustainable future.
you are right! also Growing your own plants at home is good for the environment:
When you grow your own food, it doesn't need to be transported long distances, which means fewer cars or trucks burning fuel and putting pollution into the air.
People who grow plants at home often they do it in a way that's good for the Earth like using natural ways to make plants grow instead of chemicals. This helps to reduce the pollution and the emission of bad stuff into the air.
Having different plants in your garden can help animals and bugs too. This makes the whole area more lively and healthy.
Growing food at home can reap many benefits. Both in terms of personal health and environmental health. There is a direct contribution to the carbon emission we produce and how we choose as a nation to grow and distribute our food. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has found that around 25% of global carbon emissions are caused by industrial productions of food. By producing and growing your own food, your carbon emissions are essentially zero. This is due to the fact that you are growing, washing, and eating all at home. You are also able to reduce the amount of fertilizer and pesticides used when growing your food. Data recently collected from the EPA shows the cost spent on pesticides and fertilizers. Which annually is over 15 billion dollars for both products. Not only does including these in growing foods harm the produce, but it also harms the soil itself. This not only has a negative effect on the environment but also the harmful effect of eating such produce. This shows another reason why home grown food can be more than just beneficial to humans. By growing your own foods you also connect better with nature and the world around you. You develop a relationship with the Earth which can have a positive effect on the other things you decide to do. When you put care into one aspect of the Earth's health, you may slowly start to care for other aspects as well. Growing your own food at home can also help other organisms in the environment. There are animals and insects all around that are pollinators. These pollinators use sources such as plants to survive. Not only does this benefit the insects around nature. It also benefits your plants themselves. As well as avoiding the situations of pollinators trying to feed off of over fertilized produce with pesticides. Which in turn can be fatal and spread sickness amongst the species. In conclusion, growing food at home can be beneficial for the ones growing, the environment, and other organisms around the Earth. Which is why it is overall recommended to grow your food at home.
Do you want to feel more involved in your community, while also helping the ecosystem? Community gardens are the solution! Community gardens have the possibility to benefit multiple aspects of life. The environment would benefit greatly from a community garden. Having a community garden would help both the soil quality and air quality. It would also attract many helpful insects and wildlife. But not only would a community garden help the environment, it would help the overall well being of our communities physical health. Having a diet full of fruits and vegetables, which would be grown in the garden, can help to prevent or improve health problems. Some of the problems it could help include lowering blood pressure, controlling blood sugar, and reducing the risk of heart disease. Having a community garden could encourage people young and old to want to gain knowledge about how to cook and eat healthily. Did you know that certain fruits and veggies have even been shown to help mental health too? According to News Medical, “the more often people ate fruit, the lower they scored for depression and the higher for mental wellbeing.” (Henderson). Having a community garden could help people to have an escape from their busy life. Sometimes people just want to get away, having a community garden could solve that! Having a diverse ecosystem of plants and veggies could help people be more food conscious. In lower income areas, it could also help them to have a secure and cheap food source. For children, having fruits and vegetables locally grown could help them learn a lesson about where food comes from. Having a locally grown food source could help lower the amount of C02 emissions associated with food transportation. It could help people of all ages share and gain valuable knowledge. By advocating and supporting the idea of building a community garden, individuals can play a vital role in making a vibrant, flourishing community. Help create a more sustainable future and advocate for community gardens!
Okay wait, why do I TOTALLY AGREE!??
One way to decrease carbon emissions and to help the planet is to grow your own food/have a garden. Growing your own food and produce is very beneficial to the environment. It reduces plastic pollution, food waste, pesticide usage, and carbon admissions. This allows food to trap carbon dioxide. At the beginning the cost of these gardens may be pricey but it will extend over a long period of time but it will be beneficial. Growing your own food will have an increase on your mental health, productivity, home for pollinators and greenhouse gasses. We will see a decrease in food bills because it will just be coming from your yard. You can start growing your own produce by starting with a vegan garden, vegan gardens are an organic method of growing your own produce, without the use of animal products. This is beneficial due to the fact that it promotes plant growth, and keeps our bodies from unnatural fertilizers and powerful pesticides. These plants can provide more nutritious vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants to your system. The healthiest plants to grow on your own consist of spinach, carrots, sweet potatoes, broccoli, kale, green peas, tomatoes, and brussel sprouts. Studies show that growing your own garden can help your anxiety and stress levels. Gardens help to provide an escape from normal daily life. Not only does growing your own food help improve your physical and mental health, it helps the environment. Growing your own food means there’s no need for plastic/harmful packaging. Not only do plastics pollute the earth but the microplastics that enter your body can be severely damaging. Microplastics can enter your body though any plastic materials that have touched plastic, and it's not something small that isn't noticeable, scientists have been noticing for more than a decade. “There were around 3,000 [plastic materials] when I started researching microplastics over a decade ago,” Leslie says. “Now there are over 9,600. That's a huge number, each with its own chemical makeup and potential toxicity.” (Pinto- Rodrigues). Home grown food increases soil carbon and it decreases carbon emissions by reducing the plastic usage. Home grown food has many benefits!
https://extension.illinois.edu/blogs/il … all%20farm.
Plant a seed and watch it grow!
School gardens have been around for over 100 years, and school districts continue to use them today to establish healthy eating habits; as educational tools in the classroom; and to promote community inclusion. The fact sheet for farm to school stakeholders provides examples of school gardens that have taken root, and resources to continue growth: TEACHING GARDENS in Tennessee, aquaponics systems in Montana, salad bars in New Mexico, and garden based curriculum in Guam. Across the United States schools are growing gardens to provide food for child nutrition programs, connect children to the source of their food, and create hands-on interdisciplinary classrooms. School gardens pre-date the National School Lunch Program; the Federal Government has been encouraging school gardening since the early 1900s, even building a “School Garden Army” during World War I and supporting victory gardens at schools during World War II. USDA encourages school gardens by providing grant funding, guidance and resources, and support for food service personnel who are interested in purchasing products from a school garden. For additional information on school gardens across the Nation, check out the latest findings from the USDA Farm to School Census. Space for Gardens in All Seasons. School gardens come in all shapes and sizes, and districts
with varying amounts of land are finding ways to establish gardens both within and outside of school grounds. Gardens can be as simple as a few containers on a windowsill or can cover many acres, and gardens can thrive in all climates. Program operators find that even small gardens help children gain familiarity and comfort with the fruits and vegetables they are seeing more of at meal times. Districts are also overcoming growing season challenges in creative and innovative ways. Even in Montana, where the traditional growing season just barely overlaps with the school year, season extension techniques make it possible for students to garden all year long. Using School Garden Produce in the Cafeteria Food service directors use school garden products in the cafeteria every day, from herbs to spice up a pizza, to serving garden-grown lettuce on the salad bar, to roasting vegetables as part of a reimbursable meal. Foods produced in a garden operated or funded by the food service account can be used in the meal service and can be used for educational purposes. Produce can be procured from school gardens not funded by the food service account using a variety of procurement methods such as through an interdepartmental agreement, informal (small or micro purchase) procurement methods, or via a donation to the school meal program. Gardens as Classrooms, school gardens are living laboratories that create teaching
opportunities ripe for nutrition and agriculture education and experiential education across all disciplines. USDA has free resources for nutrition education lessons in the
garden through Team Nutrition, and lists garden-based curriculum on the USDA Farm to School Resources page. Food Safety in the Garden, food safety is a priority for all food served in child nutrition programs and products that come from school gardens are
no exception. Food from school gardens has the shortest physical distance to travel from harvest to plate, so its safety can be managed with more direct oversight than food
that travels long distances – a food safety benefit. While safe growing, harvesting and storage practices should be followed when implementing school gardens, there is no
research that indicates produce from school gardens carries greater food safety risk than produce from other sources. There are also children who work in the fields, that make sure the fields are taken care of, and the food is grown right, and able to eat. The nature of agricultural work exposes child laborers to many risks and dangers, many attributed to the following types of work or conditions. Every year, approximately 115 children die in an agricultural-related incident, and nearly 12,000 experience a non-fatal injury.
https://www.fns.usda.gov/f2s/school-gardens
https://www.google.com/search?q=Child+labor+in+feilds
If more places begin to grow food locally, more people will have opportunities to purchase the crops. Locally grown food can help to decrease someone's carbon footprint because when purchasing food the process itself releases harmful carbon emissions.The use of transportation, packaging, and especially fertilizers have a large impact on someone's carbon footprint, but when purchasing locally grown food, all those elements decrease. Different foods and the different ways of processing them, lead to different amounts of carbon emissions. For example peas do not emit that same amount of carbon as something like beef. An important factor of lowering carbon emissions would be some slight changes in diet. When food is grown more locally there is more access to fresh food which releases less carbon.
Starting your own garden at home would be extremely beneficial, but it can also be very complicated and for many difficult to maintain. Whether it be through not having the time or the resources, home gardens can be a challenging task. I propose an increased use of school gardens. They are not unheard of, and have been used in many areas, but that doesn't deny the fact that more of them can be beneficial. The use of school gardens still helps to lower carbon emissions, but for many would be an easier process. Instead of creating difficulties for families at home, school gardens would be able to be maintained by multiple people, and would benefit those in and around the school district. Not only could a school garden provide more resources that schools could use for healthy lunches, it would open up the schools to giving their students experience in agriculture. It opens up students to a different learning environment where they can work hands-on. Academic, social, and thinking skills would all be worked upon. Research has shown that students benefit from school gardens. Studies have shown that students become more attentive and engaged, but also have received higher scores in science based curriculum. School gardens not only are beneficial to the environment by reducing carbon emissions, but they can also improve the school environment. This is why I think school gardens should be a more widely utilized concept.
Starting a garden at home is very beneficial to the environment. It can reduce carbon emissions, reduces pesticide and fertilizer usage, and provides better nutrition. You can start a garden very easily. First you want to make sure the soil is ready, if you take a handful it should fall apart. Clear the surface by removing any plants or weeds, brush or rock. Dig up the Earth and then sift the dirt. Then you can apply a covering to the bottom of your garden like clear or black plastic, cardboard, or old rugs. You need at least six to eight inches of ground for most plants to have enough room for their roots. If you're planning to grow substantial root crops (potatoes, say, or carrots), go deeper still - up to a foot or more. Adding organic material is very crucial for fertile soil.
Starting your own garden can help the environment in many ways. Growing your own food could mean that you don't have to drive to the store to get your food. Which reduces the amount of carbon emissions that are being let out into the atmosphere. You just have to walk to your backyard! It also reduces the amount of plastic waste. There is no packaging on home grown food. Which means less plastic waste overall. Another help to the environment is less food waste. When you grow your own food you have the option to only harvest what you need. Meaning you aren't wasting as much food if you didn't grow your own. Another great way to help the environment is composting! Composting is a method of fertilization but much healthier for the environment. You can recycle your food scraps and yard waste to create a very nutrient-rich soil fertilizer. How does composting even help the environment? It reduces the amount of waste that goes into landfills and instead is being reused. By using the alternative of composting you are also reducing the use of Carcinogenic Pesticides and Fertilizers unlike commercial farming composting is much healthier for the environment. Commercial farming emits harmful chemicals into the air, and also pours harmful chemicals into our soil and water. Filling our earth and the foods that we are consuming with harmful chemicals, some that have even been proven to cause cancer and other diseases.
We can grow our own foods, Like fruits and vegetables
yes.
Growing your food in your backyard/garden such as fruits and vegetables is a great way to reduce the emissions produced from processing and transporting the food we eat, not to mention providing a healthy, organic alternative to shop-bought, convenience foods. According to Rainforest Trust, composting conserves water and reduces water use by helping soils retain moisture. You might wonder what composting is. Composting is a process that decomposes organic matter like leaves, vegetable scraps, or tea bags into soil conditioners. This process can make sure that the plants are healthy, conserves water, and reduces water use by helping soils retain moisture. It naturally enriches the soil and prevents plant pests and diseases. In addition, the earth suffers from the loss of wildlife and deforestation because of food production. One of the main causes of deforestation and animal extinction is food production. The production of meat and dairy products in agriculture requires a lot of energy and contributes to deforestation. Always remember to buy locally or organically sourced food to prevent deforestation and loss of wildlife.
People around the world should grow their own food at home. The benefits of it include: a cheaper living. We all know that inflation has affected how people used carbon emissions for food. The New York Times says a pint of strawberries has joined up in price by 25 percent in November, 2021. Tomatoes are growing rapidly in prices at 16.9 percent every year. Miracle Gro, a website that gives tips and tricks to gardeners, explains the second benefit which is creating less waste. This point is very critical because on Earth, trash pits are being overstuffed with trash. The last benefit which is the best, is that people can get to pick how ripe in flavor they want their crops to be. This reflects how we people can pick and decided depending on our own unique taste buds.
According to The Garden Continuum, carbon emissions can be decreased by people growing crops at home. Think about how long it takes food to end up on shelves in supermarkets. Nowadays, crops are sorted and cut by machines which seem convenient but, machines need fuel releasing carbon emissions. Large trucks them come take these crops to supermarkets. Food transportation is also a big factor in carbon emissions. Imports from different countries can also cause carbon emission to be created. If people don't stop growing food at home, the Earth will be affected by global warning or other serious problems. In conclusion, people around the world should grow their own food and crops for a better future!