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?
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Local Food and Garden Benefits
Buying local and organic food has many benefits regarding the environment and carbon footprints. When food is bought from a grocery store, it has to travel a long way, adding CO2 emissions to their carbon footprint, and it is likely to have been packaged in factory, which also adds to emissions. If the food is bought locally, there is less travel and likely less packaging, especially if it comes from a farmers' market. Buying organic food stops pesticides and chemicals from being added to the soil and potentially getting into the run off from the soil. Backyard gardens are a great way to get food locally and without pesticides. There are virtually no CO2 released during the production of food from one's garden in comparison to food from large companies, and no pesticides are used making it earth friendly 