Shop local first, Miami. Introduction.

I've decided to do a three part series on buying locally grown food right here in Miami. Today I will wax on about the benefits and importance of trying to buy local, followed in the weeks to come by several posts on vegetable stands and farmer's markets available to us: the Redlands and the Coral Gables Farmer's Market.

Local agriculture has been a pet issue of mine since I was in college, going to school with farmers in Iowa. It was right around the time the Des Moines Farmer's market was really taking off, and I was getting to work with smaller vegetable and fruit grower's through my undergraduate research job at Iowas State. I found these grower's to be excited about farming, ready to try experiment with new crops, new way of cultivation. At the same time, I learned in classes that while the industrialization of agriculture dramatically increased yields, it has lead to the death of rural communites and farms, with more and more of our produce being shipped from California, Chile, Mexico, etc. Being from the Midwest, with agrarian roots, that made me sad. And also a little worried to think that we rely on food supplies from other regions and countries.

The motto "shop local first" is getting easier because of the mutlitude of farmer's markets and CSA's that have popped up all over the country. Of course not everything I eat comes from farmer's markets. But I do purchase most of my produce at a local vegetable stand during the growing season, and because of Florida's great law requiring origin of production labels on all produce at the frocer store, I try to limit my grocery store purchases to the eastern United States, and not from Chile or Mexico. That's not to say I don't buy the occasional banana or apple.

So why should we all adopt the motto "shop local first"? There are many direct benefits to us as consumers, even without consideration of the broader impacts. First of all, the food usually tastes better. Compare a local, fresh tomato that was picked ripe to a store bought tomato picked green then ripened in an ethylene chamber. There is no comparison. Buying locat fruits and vegetables really allows us to enjoy the foods from where we live. In Iowa, we enjoy apples, raspberries, strawberries. In Miami it is mango, lychee, avocado. What is more, you will find the produce you buy from local growers stays fresh a lot longer in your fridge. This is especially good for me because I always buy ambitiously, but it takes me awhile to get to cooking everything I had planned.

The best benefit to buying local is the fuzzy feeling you get when you know you are helping support local growers, your community, the local economy. It really makes everything taste even better. Talking to people at a farmer's market, you'll find they have developed almost an emotional connection to the grower's they buy from. "That Rita, the asparagus gal, she always asks me how my week was." or "Joe, the eggman (not the walrus, ha ha!) always saves a dozen of those beautiful blue eggs for me."

Buying locally produced food also encourages a healthier diet. You can't buy overprocessed, already prepared meals, so we all get back in the kitchen and start putting healthier food in our mouths.

But what about the cost you say? I cannot dispute that some things are more expensive when you get them from local sources. But believe it or not, many things (especially produce) is comparable if not cheaper. It all has to do with buying seasonally. Tomatoes and cucumber, basil and spinach, etc. gets really cheap during the growing season (winter here in Miami). You'll be surprised how little you spend on the week's veggies.

What about broader impacts? Well, we can alter the previous course of the food industry: vertically integrated, megalithic companies that outcompete small, local growers. We can lower our carbon footprint by cutting out the hundreds or even thousands of miles that most food in the grocery store is shipped. We can contribute to the sustainability of our local economy, of our community itself.

So go visit a vegetable stand or farmer's market this weekend. Try some heirloom tomatoes, some Kirby cucumbers, some sweet onions. How about freshly baked bread or some local honey? Believe me, it is well worth the trip.

It's cold in my office...I think I need a pair of those glove that leave your fingertips exposed, like flutists wear (not 'flautists', read here why). Maybe a pale blue pair made from alpaca...mmm sounds sumptuous.