Eating food produced in our local area benefits our health, environment, community and farmers. But sometimes, it’s easier said than done. Luckily, there are some simple tools that can help.
10 tips for eating locally and cutting the energy used to produce your food
SBS Article, 25 October 2016
Eating locally-grown food is one way you can play a role in feeding more people in a rapidly changing world.
To feed the predicted nine billion people in the world in 2050, the world will need to produce 70-100 per cent more food. This will require substantial changes in soil management, land cultivation, and crop production and cannot be achieved without technological advances that increase crop yield and reduce the need to use nitrogen-based fertilisers. The question is how this can be achieved sustainably, while also tackling climate change. This is where “eating local” comes in.
Fair Food Forager app
The Fair Food Forager app lists restaurants, cafes, grocers and suppliers who are making steps to be more sustainable and ethical. You as the consumer can help us populate the app, so that we can all work together to help people find food that is lighter on the planet.
Often when we are away from our hometown we end up settling for something not so healthy or ethical because, well we are just hungry and have already looked for a while and there just isn’t anything around. However it is regularly the case that there is something, we just don’t know where to find it.
Seasonal Food Guide Australia
Seasonal Food Guide Australia was started in 2010 to help Australians buy fresh produce from their local region more easily.
It includes seasonal produce guides for the five major capitals in Australia with what fruits and vegetables are in season around Australia at different times of the year. Also, the farmers markets directories provide a list and map of farmers markets around the major cities in Australia, making it easy to find great sources of fresh local produce wherever you live.
Check out the Local Harvest interactive map for where to source local food nationally.
