Last night I went to see the movie, Farmageddon. Wow! What an eye opener. If you haven’t seen it, put it on your list! If you are interested in the locally grown movement, your right as a citizen to buy your food from a local farmers’ market, and assuring the availability of organic produce and organic, pasture raised meats and dairy, this movie is a must see.

After the movie I thought a long time about how lucky we are here in the Athens, GA area. We have easy access to locally grown and organic, nutrient dense fruits and vegetables, meats, and dairy. I realized how important it is to continue to support the efforts of our small farmers and organizers who make these foods available to us.

I did some research and these are some of the things I learned:

1. The average grocery-store food travels about 1,500 miles and takes up to 7 days to arrive on the shelf. Out-of-season produce can travel several thousand miles farther and take even longer. The longer a fruit or vegetable sits after harvest, the more degraded the nutrients are.

2. The average carrot has traveled 1,800 miles before making it to a dinner table.

3. Eggs from pasture-raised poultry contain 400% more omega 3 fatty acids (the good stuff!) than those from factory-farmed poultry. They contain 40% more vitamin A.

4. Pasture-raised chickens have 30% less saturated fat and 28% fewer calories than their factory-farmed counterparts.

5. Over 75% of U.S. corn is genetically engineered. It has been estimated that over 70% of all processed foods on the supermarket shelves, from crackers to sodas and beyond, contain genetically engineered ingredients.

6. Buying locally grown, organic food is a sure way to avoid genetically engineered food.

Be a locavore! Support your local farmers at our farmers’ markets on Saturdays 8:00-noon at Bishop park on Sunset Dr. and on Tues. afternoons 4:00-7:00 at Little Kings on Hancock, or in downtown Watkinsville on Saturdays from 8:00-1:00. There are many other small farmers markets in the surrounding areas.

For more information regarding “locally grown” visit these websites:
Athensfarmersmarket.net
Athens.locallygrown.net
Localplace.org
Slowfoodusa.org (we have a local chapter!)
Localharvest.org