Why shop at your neighborhood mom & pop store when the general assumption is that it’s cheaper and more convenient to buy all of your household needs at someplace like Wal-Mart?
There are lots of reasons….you’re helping the environment by reducing the C02 emissions caused by shipping fresh produce & groceries from half-way around the world. (Did you know that leading environmental scientists say we only have a 10 year window to take action necessary to stop catastrophic global warming?)
If you buy your fresh produce from local farmer’s markets, you know exactly where it’s coming from, so you won’t have to worry and wonder about whether or not your pre-washed, bagged produce trucked in from across the country could be another E.Coli outbreak in the making. If you do happen to get bad produce when buying locally, you’ll know exactly who to blame.
You’ll also be supporting your local economy and keeping your neighborhood a diverse, interesting place to live.
You can find a list of ten good reasons why you should shop local here. There’s also a really great article in the August issue of National Geographic, written by Bill McKibben, about shopping locally.
For those of you here in New Orleans, check out sites like Stay Local or Buy Local Buy NOLA for directories of locally-owned businesses. Many other cities have sites similar to these, so do a search for locally-owned stores where you live.
Making the commitment to spend more of your dollars locally isn’t something that is easily accomplished overnight. Take baby steps…set attainable goals for yourself along the way. Take the Eat Local Challenge. Buy locally grown veggies whenever you can or make the committment to visit your farmer’s market once a week.
Remember, the holiday gift-giving season is right around the corner. Could you commit to buy at least 25% of your gifts from locally owned merchants and artisans? I bet it’s a lot easier than you think.
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