All fruits and vegetables have a particular time of year when they are at their peak. Eating according to the seasons is an important part of a healthy and sustainable diet: it has a host of benefits for your health, your hip pocket, the environment, and local business. It’s also fun, delicious, and very, very easy!
Until quite recently, seasonal eating was universal – without modern technology or transport, we relied on our skills to take advantage of the best growing seasons for each food, and to last through the times of scarcity. Today, the globalised food market has given us the “convenience” of being able to buy any food at any time of the year. This has greatly reduced our awareness of the seasons and the environment, at a time when this awareness is most badly needed.
Foods that are not in season locally will have been shipped from another part of the world, unnecessarily using up energy and emitting greenhouse gases through transportation. Eating seasonally encourages you to buy local produce, which will not only reduce your carbon footprint, but also save you the labour costs of transport and storage, as well as supporting your local economy. You can heighten these benefits by boycotting the supermarket and buying from farmers’ markets and food co-ops instead! As well as paying less, you will be helping local farmers to build a very sustainable food industry.
