By supporting Washington farmers today, you can help ensure that there will be farms in our community tomorrow, and that future generations will enjoy all this region has to offer. Here are just ten reasons to Eat Local Now!

Local Sustainably Grown Food…

1. Is Fresher and Better for you.

Food grown in Washington was probably picked within the last day or two and is crisp, sweet, and loaded with flavor. And from Seattle Farmers Markets, talented chefs and their fabulous restaurants to food coops, we have lots of opportunities to get our hands on local food. Produce flown or trucked in from California, Mexico, or New Zealand is by definition older.

Fresh produce loses nutrients quickly, sugars turn to starches, plant cells shrink, and produce loses its vitality. Buying local lets you get food that is at the peak of flavor and nutritive value. Our bodies naturally crave seasonal crops, requiring more hearty potatoes and cabbages when weather turns colder, and lighter salad greens and cucumbers when it is warmer. Shopping locally tunes you in with these seasons. [watch an ELN! produced video.]

2. Preserves Genetic Diversity

The modern industrial food system favors fruits and vegetables with thick skins that can survive packing and shipping, leaving few varietal options. Local farms can value different characteristics such as varieties uniquely suited to the Puget Sound region and favor heirloom varieties that have been passed down from generation to generation. These older varieties contain genetic material from hundreds of years of human selection; retaining a diverse seed stock ensures we have genes available to create varieties that will thrive in a changing climate.

3. Is Free of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)

A June 2001 survey by ABC News showed that 93% of Americans want labels on GMO food - mostly so that they can avoid it.  Knowledge of the long-term effects of releasing GMO’s into the wider environment remains incomplete. GMO foods are copyrighted and farmers are forbidden to keep seed from GMO crops to replant, meaning that communities are loosing important seed knowledge. Biotech companies currently only license GMO fruits and vegetables to large commercial growers, which means that smaller local farmers more likely guarantee a non-GMO source. [watch an ELN! produced video.]

4. Supports Local Farming Families

From Boistfort Valley Farm to Skagit River Ranch, we can support talented and hardworking farm families from disappearing. Each 5-year agricultural census demonstrates that less than 2% of our population currently works in agriculture. While a typical family farm gets paid only 10 cents of each retail food dollar, buying directly from a producer or conscientious retailer keeps more money in the pocket of these family farms and keeps them in business.

5. Builds Stronger More Vibrant Local Economies

On average, for each dollar spent at or for products made by large corporations, only 15 cents remain reinvested within our local communities. But when we spend a dollar at a local business or farm, 45 cents are reinvested locally. This multiplier effect makes our local economy more diverse and resilient to downturn. [watch an ELN! produced video.]

6. Improves Food Security in Our Communities

By preserving farmland in Puget Sound, supporting urban agriculture, and by growing some of our own food at home we create a more resilient food system with food coming from multiple sources. As oil becomes more expensive and climate change affects crop yields, our communities need to count on food close to home. [watch an ELN! produced video.]

7. Preserves Open Space

When more people put their dollars into the pockets of farmers, farmland becomes less likely to be converted to exurban housing and retail development. Puget Sound is predicted to have considerable population growth the next two decades, this places farms in the Puget Sound region in particular risk.

8. Benefits Wildlife

Smaller patchworks formed by smaller farms of fields, meadows, woods, and ponds are a better environment for many species of wildlife, including bluebirds, herons, bats, rabbits, and eagles. Industrial agriculture uses toxic pesticides that can damage wildlife, and has larger patches of single species hurting biodiversity.

9. Promotes Positive Climate Change

Industrial farming techniques release greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide to the atmosphere through techniques such as excessive tillage, excessive use of fertilizer, corn-fed cattle, and long supply chains. Buying local and with less meat has a smaller carbon footprint and it is estimated that farmers who practice conservation tillage can sequester 12-14 % of the carbon emitted by vehicles and industry. [watch an ELN! produced video.]

10. Assists in Preserving Clean Water

Sustainable farming keeps pesticides and other chemicals out of runoff water. Local, small farmers have the flexibility to maintain crop diversification and implement sustainable harvesting methods that impact the quality of our public water sources.