It makes a huge difference to know where your food comes from, to know the growers/farmers/makers and to know how it’s produced. I’ve been thinking about that a lot this summer, especially as the cyclosporiasis outbreak has sickened hundreds of people and a new Salmonella outbreak is in the news.
Local food champion Robin McDermott, Waitsfield, has been thinking about this too. In an email, she reflected on this.
“While visiting my friend Lisa in Chicago recently, I was helping prepare dinner when I began slicing a cucumber.
“You need to peel that!' she said abruptly.
"It took me a moment to understand her concern. She has been following news about the outbreak of Cyclospora cayetanensis, a microscopic parasite that can be transmitted through contaminated produce. The parasite has barely been on my radar. That's because this time of year, nearly every vegetable I eat comes from a local farm or my own garden.
“A recent New York Times article suggested choosing locally grown produce when possible, as one way to reduce the risk of exposure. Local food is not immune to contamination, of course, and all produce should be handled and washed carefully.
“But food grown close to home generally travels through a much shorter and more transparent supply chain. We are more likely to know where it was grown, who grew it and how it reached our kitchens.
“But, food safety is only one reason to buy local. Locally grown produce is usually fresher because it has traveled fewer miles and spent less time in storage. Buying it keeps more of our food dollars within our communities, supports working farms, helps preserve agricultural land and strengthens our regional food system. It also connects us with the people who grow our food.
“Here in Vermont, we are fortunate to have so many ways to buy food grown close to home—from CSAs, farmers markets and farm stands to local grocery stores. But if we want these farms to be here when a crisis or disruption affects our national food supply, we need to support them during ordinary times, too. Every local purchase helps ensure that our farmers—and the resilient regional food system they sustain—will continue to be here when we need them.”
We could not have said it better. -LAL
