Go green, go local
I am not an eco-warrior but I do believe in looking after the environment and minimising the impact on nature from modern living. Reducing our food miles, is not only ecologically sound, it means we are getting fresh products often harvested on, or just before the delivery day.
Due to the distance it has traveled to the supermarket, some so called 'fresh' produce can be many days old before it even appears on the shelves. When recently talking to a local Lichfield farmer, I was amazed to learn that his parsnips were grown in Lichfield, transported to Devon to be packed and then often delivered back to Lichfield for sale.
With the ever increasing cost of fuel this only adds to the expense of our fruit and vegetables. Fruit is often picked before it's fully ripe, so that it has a longer shelf life. Buying locally grown produce ensures that you get the best quality produce perfectly ripe and full of natural flavour.
Political correctness and now UK government thinking says that you should help to save the planet by reducing CO2 emissions. One way to do this is to think about food miles when buying food.
The argument therefore is, that you should buy locally produced food, because it has less food miles, making it environmentally beneficial. Although that may be true, the real reason
you should buy local, fresh produce, taken out of the ground shortly before its delivered to your door, is the taste and its nutritional value, as well as its benefit to the local economy.
