SASKATOON -- Buying local is the biggest thing someone can do to fight climate change, says Nancy Carswell with the Prince Albert Chapter of the Council of Canadians.
“There is a big reduction in transportation. And also big agribusinesses tend to use fertilizers which again have their own carbon fuel footprint, whereas local producers tend to us more composting a permaculture.”
Carswell made her comments on Wednesday – the 50th annual Earth Day. She said if you can’t grow your own food or raise animals, buying food from a local producer is the next best choice for the environment. In Saskatchewan, vegetables, fruits, meat, eggs, dairy and honey among other things are available to consumers.
She cited several environmental benefits to consuming locally produced food:
- Less travel to deliver the food
- Less carbon used to produce the food
- Less use of pesticides and herbicides on smaller farming operations
- Farming practises that are focused on building better soil and permaculture
Buying food from a local producer also benefits the local economy, she said.
Backyard gardener Gerry Kozowky said he uses his own rain water on his crop. He says growing his own produce is less harmful to the environment then commercially produced vegetables.
Terra Eckert runs Sherra Farms’ vegetable box subscription service. It supplies subscribers with a box of produce once a week for about 16 weeks during the summer and fall.
Eckert said she practises sustainable farming and is focused on building the soil with natural fertilizers such as manure and compost.
This generates less garbage from packaging from commercial fertilizers and uses less carbon as it takes carbon to produce and truck fertilizers to stores, she said.
