Eating locally-produced food can lower your carbon footprint by 8 kg of CO2 a year. Eating home grown food is not only better for your environment, by is also better for your health. I have a garden at home and it is very fun to have and we eat food from it almost every dinner. We enjoy ripe tomatoes and fresh basil daily. Locally-produced farms use less chemicals than large mass-production farms, who use a lot of chemicals. Locally grown food is also much fresher and in better shape because it requires less shipping. This also reduces the carbon footprint form transportation. Local farms also practice growing different kinds of crops, which preserves biodiversity. Farmers also receive more of profit from locally grown food because they don't have to pay for transportation and the food is directly sold to the customer. So when you go to the store, remember to pick up fresh fruit or vegetables from a local farm, or even start your own garden!
http://www.openhand.org/2011/07/20/the- … own-foods/

My family has a garden too, and for the seasons they're in, we only use those foods. We'll eat tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, zucchini, and carrots all throughout their seasons instead of going to the store. We also recently started shopping at a local farmer's market and the food not only tastes better, but we know that there aren't as many chemicals used and it's healthier for us. This a great way to eat healthier and help reduce your carbon footprint!

I really like/agree with your post. A garden can be not only helpful, but really fun! Growing a garden can really help us reduce our carbon footprints as individuals, imagine if we all started growing our own food little by little! I think for the USA this is a perfectly good and acceptable challenge, and it could be carried out. As for third world countries, I believe each family growing their own food would be a little bit more difficult. For the most part, in the US we have a good supply of fresh water at our disposal. There are other countries that struggle every day for clean water, and barely get by to survive with what they have.

We too have a garden at my house.  Although it is not of a huge size we still eat out of it every night when it is in season.  It is defiantly calming to know where your food came from and what was used on it.  Also no fuel is used for transportation since we just walk outside to get it!  Of course if we have leftovers we compost them instead of throwing them away.

Rachel M. (USA)
I agree that eating and growing local produced food will help reduce our carbon footprints. I have purchased produce from local farmers and was impressed with the quality of the product. I would like to start growing some of my own food at home to reduce my carbon footprint soon. I definitely can see the benefit it would have on my overall health without it being covered in fertilizers, pesticides, and chemicals. It would be convenient having a garden at home to avoid having to travel to stores for fresh food.

Unfortunately my family doesn't have a garden. But we do eat as much locally produced food as we can. I'd like to start a garden in my family and lower our footprint. After looking at my footprint I'd like to do as much as possible to lower it!

Starting a garden is a very great idea, it will allow for you to grow your own vegetables and not have to travel to the store to buy them. Having a garden allows for you to live a healthier lifestyle and also help your carbon footprint. My uncle has a garden in his backyard where he grows his own tomatoes, peppers, and other vegetables. I should consider starting my own garden at home and this will help to lower my carbon footprint significantly.