Don’t be fooled; when it comes to fruits and veggies, it is not your wallet that benefits most from buying local. The answer is far more appetizing.
The advantages of buying locally are often related to the economy and the success of local businesses. Buying locally is widely known to drive the local economy and invests in local people. Would you believe us if we told you that buying local fruits and veggies benefits you the most as a consumer? In fact, this is due to the nutritional content of food cultivated near to home versus food matured in transit. A local tomato arrives at the grocery store within 24 to 48 hours of being picked, but a tomato from Mexico must spend 12 to 14 days on a truck and travel hundreds of miles before reaching you.
A fruit that holds on until it is fully ripe receives all the nutriments it needs. Better nutriments indicate more flavour in a fruit or vegetable. Its enzymes begin to break down and feast on the nutriments as soon as it is harvested. In other words, the instant it is selected, the nutritional value begins to decline. The longer a food is transported by truck or boat, the more nutriments, vitamins, and minerals are lost. This loss will influence the texture, look, flavour, and shelf life of the product.
Buying local does a lot more than only help the local economy and small businesses. It entails investing in our meals and recovering the lost flavour of food on our plate.
