Shop at Farmers Markers or Join a CSA
 By buying from farmer’s markets and community supported agriculture farms (CSAs), we can reduce the large amount of oil used in growing and transporting food.
In the United States, each of us "eats" more than 400 gallons of oil annually. Farmer’s markets and community supported agriculture farms (CSAs) not only provide healthy food and support local growers and economies, but also by buying from them we can significantly reduce the large amount oil used in growing and transporting food.
Massive quantities of petroleum are used in the growing/raising and transporting of food. Oil is part of almost every aspect of farming, from fertilizers to fueling tractors and other machinery used on farms to fueling the trains, trucks, and ships that get food from the farm to your table.
DID YOUR KNOW?
- The average American "eats" more than 26 gallons of oil a year just for breakfast.
- Food transportation is among the biggest and fastest-growing sources of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.
- In the United States, food typically travels 1,500 to 2,500 miles from farm to plate. A typical semi truck would use 250-416 gallons of diesel fuel to travel this distance.
- Some 34% of energy used in agriculture is consumed as diesel and gasoline by farm vehicles used to plant, till, and harvest crops.
- A Canadian study showed that a pound of local lamb generated 0.015 pounds of Carbon Dioxide through transportation, the same quantity of fresh New Zealand lamb yielded over 17.6 pounds of CO2.
- A "transcontinental" head of lettuce grown in California and shipped nearly 3,100 miles to Washington, DC requires about 36 times as much fossil fuel energy in transport as it provides in food energy when it arrives.
WHY LOCAL IS BETTER
- Food at farmer’s markets travels far shorter distances than that in the supermarket.
- Food at farmer’s markets and farms is in season and locally produced.
- Smaller growers that supply farmer’s markets and CSAs tend to use minimal or no petrochemical-based fertilizers and pesticides in growing food and use more hand labor than larger farms, which rely heavily on gasoline- and diesel-powered tractors and other heavy equipment.
- Food at farmer’s markets and farms generally has no or minimal packaging.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
- Buy seasonal foods from local growers.
- Shop at a local farmer’s market or farm stand, join a CSA, or link up with your neighbors and friends to start a subscription service.
- Learn what foods are in season in your area and try to build your diet around them.
- Choose restaurants that offer seasonal, market-based menus or ask the manager or chef of your favorite restaurant how much of the food on the menu is locally grown, and then encourage him/her to buy more food locally.
- Buy extra quantities of your favorite fruit or vegetable when it is in season and experiment with drying, canning, jamming, freezing, or otherwise preserving it for a later date so you don’t buy imported, out of season foods.
- Buy foods with little or no packaging; bring your own bags/baskets to the market or farm.
RESOURCES
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