Be a Yokel -- Buy Local!

Yesterday's Yankton Press and Dakotan notes a new publication coming from our friends at Dakota Rural Action: the 2007 Locally Grown Foods directory. DRA already has a few local growers listed online; the full print directory will come out sometime this fall.

Why buy locally grown foods? Give Prairie Roots a shout; she can lay out the case in great detail. Basically, locally grown foods are good for the belly, the billfold, and the big blue Earth:

1. Belly: fruits, vegetables, meat, and grain raised by your neighbors tastes better, is fresher since it doesn't have to survive a truck trip from California, and probably has fewer chemicals and hormones in it. Plus, local growers have to look their buyers -- their neighbors -- in the eye and live with them; they are highly motivated to produce a high-quality product!
   
2. Billfold: You might spend more upfront (though we can get local beef in town for cheaper than the usual supermarket beef), but your dollars recirculate in your local economy, helping you and all of your neighbors. The local farmers you buy from then have more money to come back to you to buy whatever goods or services you sell. Less of your money leaves town in the pockets of big food corporations.
   
3. Big Blue Earth: Locally produced food reduces our dependency on fossil fuels. Local growers lean toward organic methods, which use less (or no!) petroleum-based fertilizer. Local goods require less processing and transport, meaning even less fuel being burned to get chow to your table. And eating food grown where you live by people you know increases your sense of connection with the land and its health.

Locally grown food has benefits for everyone, from hippies to the Chamber of Commerce. Whether you're looking to save the Earth, strengthen the local economy, or just eat a mighty fine steak, get DRA's Locally Grown Foods directory.