Food Production On A Local Level | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Lifestyle

3 Reasons Why We Need To Eat Locally

Ever heard of Food Sovereignty? Eat in a healthier sense that benefits yourself and your community!

103
3 Reasons Why We Need To Eat Locally

"Food sovereignty is the right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems. It puts the aspirations and needs of those who produce, distribute and consume food at the heart of food systems and policies rather than the demands of markets and corporations."

– Declaration of Nyéléni, the first global forum on food sovereignty, Mali, 2007


c1.staticflickr.com

Food Sovereignty is the idea when we, the people, control how food is being produced, sold, and consumed in our daily lives. This concept has the idea of the people, the consumers as the main focus. It creates appropriate, healthy food for all, both the people eating it and the livestock.

Something to note is as the population continues to grow, people struggle to feed their families, and farmers are struggling to keep their land. Everything in our society has become all about production, mass production, the most amount of food in the least amount of time. In doing this we destroy the land by overusing and overtaking from it. We also disrupt the ability of the farm to table food service.

"While corporations and governments profit from top-down, market-driven policy approaches, food sovereignty is an approach focused instead on people and communities."

Thinking about food sovereignty it's an idea intended to benefit people, benefit the people growing and producing the food, creates food in a local setting and cuts out corporations, as well as the ability to work with nature.

Benefits to Eating Locally

1. Food grown locally has a richer taste to it. It is a known fact that if you went to a farmers market the fruit and vegetables have been recently harvested, probably within the last 24 hours. If you go to the market and buy that produce its been picked way in advance in order to be shipped and brought to grocery stores for distribution.

c2.staticflickr.com

2. With local food, you also have the ability to support the local economy. The products that you buy go right into the pockets of the people who grew the food. It eliminates the middle person, the grocery store.


c1.staticflickr.com

3. With buying this product you also have the ability to communicate face to face with the people who grew the food. You can hear how it was grown and the specific processes that took place. To some, this is an important component of incorporating food into there diet.


c1.staticflickr.com

Living in a community with farmers markets I find myself extremely lucky to experience that. The summers spent in Massachusetts also allow me to experience going to farms to pick fresh fruits and buy vegetables. These are small, family-owned businesses that thrive off local loyalty shoppers.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
campus
CampusExplorer

New year, new semester, not the same old thing. This semester will be a semester to redeem all the mistakes made in the previous five months.

1. I will wake up (sorta) on time for class.

Let's face it, last semester you woke up with enough time to brush your teeth and get to class and even then you were about 10 minutes late and rollin' in with some pretty unfortunate bed head. This semester we will set our alarms, wake up with time to get ready, and get to class on time!

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

The 5 Painfully True Stages Of Camping Out At The Library

For those long nights that turn into mornings when the struggle is real.

684
woman reading a book while sitting on black leather 3-seat couch
Photo by Seven Shooter on Unsplash

And so it begins.

1. Walk in motivated and ready to rock

Camping out at the library is not for the faint of heart. You need to go in as a warrior. You usually have brought supplies (laptop, chargers, and textbooks) and sustenance (water, snacks, and blanket/sweatpants) since the battle will be for an undetermined length of time. Perhaps it is one assignment or perhaps it's four. You are motivated and prepared; you don’t doubt the assignment(s) will take time, but you know it couldn’t be that long.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

The 14 Stages Of The Last Week Of Class

You need sleep, but also have 13 things due in the span of 4 days.

560
black marker on notebook

December... it's full of finals, due dates, Mariah Carey, and the holidays. It's the worst time of the year, but the best because after finals, you get to not think about classes for a month and catch up on all the sleep you lost throughout the semester. But what's worse than finals week is the last week of classes, when all the due dates you've put off can no longer be put off anymore.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

28 Daily Thoughts of College Students

"I want to thank Google, Wikipedia, and whoever else invented copy and paste. Thank you."

1262
group of people sitting on bench near trees duting daytime

I know every college student has daily thoughts throughout their day. Whether you're walking on campus or attending class, we always have thoughts running a mile a minute through our heads. We may be wondering why we even showed up to class because we'd rather be sleeping, or when the professor announces that we have a test and you have an immediate panic attack.

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

The Great Christmas Movie Debate

"A Christmas Story" is the star on top of the tree.

2504
The Great Christmas Movie Debate
Mental Floss

One staple of the Christmas season is sitting around the television watching a Christmas movie with family and friends. But of the seemingly hundreds of movies, which one is the star on the tree? Some share stories of Santa to children ("Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"), others want to spread the Christmas joy to adults ("It's a Wonderful Life"), and a select few are made to get laughs ("Elf"). All good movies, but merely ornaments on the Christmas tree of the best movies. What tops the tree is a movie that bridges the gap between these three movies, and makes it a great watch for anyone who chooses to watch it. Enter the timeless Christmas classic, "A Christmas Story." Created in 1983, this movie holds the tradition of capturing both young and old eyes for 24 straight hours on its Christmas Day marathon. It gets the most coverage out of all holiday movies, but the sheer amount of times it's on television does not make it the greatest. Why is it,
then? A Christmas Story does not try to tell the tale of a Christmas miracle or use Christmas magic to move the story. What it does do though is tell the real story of Christmas. It is relatable and brings out the unmatched excitement of children on Christmas in everyone who watches. Every one becomes a child again when they watch "A Christmas Story."

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments