Take the Local Produce Pledge

I found this reminder of how important it is to buy locally grown food on the New American Dream website. This month's Carbon Conscious Consumer (C3) pledge is "Buy 1 Pound of Locally Grown Food a Week." Why? "Because 'going local' is a small step that can lead to big change. Food in the U.S. typically travels 1500 miles and the transportation of conventional food generates five to 17 times more carbon emissions than food grown locally."

After reading the pledge, my first thought was that I wouldn't have to do anything different this week because we are already harvesting more than a pound per person from our garden. But, then I realized that since many of us are fortunate enough to be in this position, it's all the more reason to go beyond the "letter of the law" and embrace the spirit of the pledge. So, I am choosing to take additional steps to reduce food transportation miles and build a stronger local economy this month (and every month).

My pledge: To purchase an extra pound of [insert locally available food item here] at the Fitchburg Farmers' Market each Thursday. I will also connect with some local growers to obtain food each week throughout the winter or to stock up by preserving local foods ahead of time. (See the MACSAC website for info about sharing in the local harvest.)

If each Fitchburger (or Fitchburgian for my vegetarian friends) took the pledge, a mere one pound a week per person reduction in food shipped from California would total over 10 tons of food products each and every week that wouldn't be traveling cross-country!

Less traffic. Less noise. Less road maintenance. Less foreign oil. Less carbon emissions. More money recirculating in the local food/farm economy. More beautiful gardens. More friendships between growers and eaters. Pick your benefit.

Let's take our pies off the freeways and put them back into the sky where they belong!

I need your help. What changes could you make to replace one pound of food each week for each person in your household with locally grown food?