Eating locally produced foods is an important part of sustainability. The term “local food” is used to describe a method of food production and distribution that is geographically localized, rather than national or international. Food is grown or raised and harvested close to consumers’ homes, then distributed over much shorter distances than is common in a global industrial food system.
Local food systems rely upon a network of small, usually sustainably run, family farms (rather than large industrially run farms) as the source of farm products. Industrial farming negatively impacts the environment in myriad ways: by polluting the air, surface water, and groundwater, over-consuming fossil fuel and water resources, degrading soil quality, inducing erosion, and accelerating the loss of biodiversity.
Conventional food is estimated to typically travel between 1,500 and 3,000 miles to reach the consumer and usually requires additional packaging and refrigeration. Many small-scale, local farms attempt to ameliorate the environmental damage done via industrial farming by focusing on sustainable practices, such as minimized pesticide use, no-till agriculture and composting, minimized transport to consumers, and minimal to no packaging for their farm products.
Below are some links to help you find locally produced foods in Cass County.
cassrecycle.wordpress.com 