ReZoom

Buying locally grown produce could be a part of a more earth-friendly, sustainable future.

The Difference a Day Makes

It's spring, and yet you are still purchasing wobbly produce at that massive chain of a grocery store? Get to the farmer's market! Just-picked green peppers have a snap you can hear across the kitchen, lettuce a kind of vigor just not found in grocery stores. And celery? It's virtually impudent.

Anyone who has tasted really fresh produce knows the difference a few days makes, and big business agriculture spends more than a few days trucking in goods just so it can spend more ho-hum time on store shelves.

"Consuming eight servings of fresh fruits and vegetables per day dramatically reduces the incidence of heart attack, stroke, cancer and overall mortality by 50 percent or more," says ReZoom's wellness and anti-aging expert Dr. Mark Houston.

Easy for the experts to say, but getting the nutrition we need is easier if what we are buying is richer in nutrients. Bottled vitamins are fine, but in Mother Nature's infinite wisdom, vitamins and minerals work in concert with each other — done best by eating foods. Also, minerals, such as zinc and selenium in particular, are lacking in "agri-foods" due to over-farming methods that deplete the mineral content of the soil.

Corporation-generated produce, which is harvested up to seven days before hitting supermarkets and must travel an average of 1,500 miles, loses precious vitamins and minerals on the long trip to the table.

"It is important to consume fresh produce if possible to avoid the natural decay that occurs in these various phytonutrients during the typical shipping and storage of much of the produce that finally ends up in the grocery store," Houston says. "The combination of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, fiber and other phytonutrients contributes to these health benefits."

Don't It Always Seem to Go …

" ... that you don't know what you've got til it's gone," Joni Mitchell opined decades ago. By supporting local growers, you not only help your local economy, you also help preserve open space. Buying locally is an environmentally sound practice. Think of the greenhouse emissions you stave off by not having your food shipped across the country. And agribusiness concentrates wealth in a few hands.

Though genetic engineers are developing vegetables that are more disease-resistant, prettier, grow faster and can withstand the bumps of travel, not much is being done to increase the nutrient levels of the plants or to enrich the soil, as if you needed another reason.

There couldn't come a better time for a resurgence in farmer's markets, which is happening across the country. Local markets are not only a wonderful source for both organic and non-organic foods but for community building.

So, make it a day at your local farmer's market. Put on your pedometer, and take a long walk up and down the open-air corridors, and buy your produce at the end.

April yields apples, bananas, grapes and grapefruit, as well as asparagus, beans, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, lettuce, snow peas, spinach, spring onions, turnips and zucchini, just to mention a few. Seasonal produce at its peak of ripeness is literally miles better than store produce. Compare the taste and texture of a ripe, fresh-picked local tomato to an imported version. It's like comparing apples and oranges.

At ReZoom, one of the ways we want to help build a better world is by being kinder to the earth. Check in for regular tips and ideas on making your life and home more environmentally friendly.