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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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.