Why eat local?
When we eat local food we are more likely to be eating fresh food which is in season – and this keeps us in touch with the natural world around us
Our Environment
Food smiles, not food miles!
If everyone in the world produced and consumed food like we do in Scotland, we would need 3 planets to sustain ourselves!
Local food often has a lower carbon footprint – not just because of the energy used to transport food but also because it uses less energy in refrigeration, processing and packaging.
More importantly, local food is not damaging the environment somewhere out of sight. WWF research shows that 40% of our “foodprint” in the UK comes from deforestation in other countries to produce commodities such as beef, soya and palm oil (found in many processed foods) When we buy local food we can see for ourselves if it is being grown in a sustainable way which is helping the environment and biodiversity.
Let’s take 1 million cars off the road
According to new research by the Soil Association that’s the equivalent carbon saving as you’d get from converting all UK farmland to organic. Nitrous oxide (300 times more powerful than carbon dioxide) is released from the soil as a result of fertilizer use in conventional, non-organic farming. Buying organic significantly reduces emissions of this dangerous greenhouse gas. Buying organic, seasonal, local produce will help you to reduce your carbon footprint.
Organic food releases less greenhouse gases than non-organic farming. Nitrous oxide (300 times more powerful than carbon dioxide) is released from the soil as a result of fertilizer use New research from the Soil Association reveals that if all UK farmland was converted to organic farming, at least 3.2 million tonnes of carbon would be taken up by the soil each year – the equivalent of taking nearly 1 million cars off the road.
Organic farming also guarantees better welfare standards for livestock. When you buy organic, you are automatically buying free-range meat.
Our Health
Love life? Love local food!
Eating locally also has a positive impact on our health. We are eating the freshest, in-season ingredients, packed with nutrients. We are also avoiding most processed food (as processed food is often made with ingredients that come from a range of different countries). This means we are reducing our intake of salt, sugar and harmful additives.
Our Local Economy
What would Peebles High Street look like with an extra £1.5 million per year?
This is how much would be brought in if every household in Peebles spent just £5 or £10 of their weekly food budget in the local shops.
Eating local food supports local livelihoods in the food and farming sector. It means supporting the local businesses on our high street who often stock local produce. This, in turn, means that the money we spend on local food tends to get recycled in our own community. We also benefit from a high street that is full of life and a diverse range of shops in Peebles and Tweeddale.
And yet we know that across Scotland 80% of our retail food budget goes to the major supermarkets. That means control over what we eat lies in the hands of a few powerful, and often global corporations, not in our hands as communities.. Across the UK we have seen tens of thousands of local shops close down. In 1960 small independent retailers had a 60% share of the food retail market. In 2000 this was down to 6%. Across Scotland only 6% of our retail food budget is spent in our independent shops. Buying local means that more money is recycled within our community rather than being taken out of Tweeddale.