Did you ever sell homemade lemonade as a kid? Have you picked your own pumpkins right out of the pumpkin patch or harvested apples for homemade apple pie?
Those were the days.
I wonder how many kids today have done any of this.
Well, if you were one of those kids, I bet you still shop at your local farmer’s markets and at small-town family businesses.
I think it’s time for more local markets.
Shop Local
Local and family run businesses are the backbone of the US economy because it spreads the wealth within the community, but today, the tables have turned. (Sorry for the pun.)
Large corporations are making it tough for the small business owner and local farmer, so we all need to shop locally to support these smaller businesses.
I’d rather help a neighborhood business pay the bills, and reward a family business’s core efforts to produce and provide a service as opposed to paying a mega-corporation that produces assembly-line products and sends their profits to the top stockholders.
A local business owner is putting his kids through college; a mega-corporation doesn’t even know the names of their employees.
I live in a southern Texas town with more local businesses than big-corp stores. There are vacuum cleaner repair shops, clock and watch repair shops, small pet stores, family-run barber shops and beauty salons, upholstery shops, seamstress and tailor shops. There are wedding boutiques, local hardware stores, tire repair shops, and farmer’s markets everywhere.
The more we support small, local business, the less we support the mega-big corps.
The Farmer’s Market
The fruits and vegetables that you buy at a farmer’s market are the freshest and tastiest available.
One of the benefits of local foods is that the fruits and veggies are allowed to ripen fully in the field, which is important in the growing process.
Local foods are brought directly to you without long-distance shipping, there is no gassing to simulate the ripening process, and no sitting for weeks in storage.
This food is as real as it gets—fresh from the farm.
Big Corp Stores
Most of the food found in mega-grocery stores is highly processed and grown using pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, and genetic modification. Some of the fruits and vegetables have been irradiated, waxed, or gassed in transit. These practices can have negative effects on human health.
On the flip side, most of the food found at local farmer’s markets is minimally processed, and many farmers go to great lengths to grow the most nutritious produce possible by using sustainable techniques, picking produce right before market, and growing heirloom varieties (NON GMO).
So, buy local as much as you can. Encourage young people to become entrepreneurs. Spend your money on quality foods and hand-crafted products and services. It saves you money in the long run because you will spend less on doctor bills and OTC meds!
Here’s to your health!
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Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only, and is educational in nature. The FDA may not have evaluated some of the statements. This article is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Please discuss with your own, qualified health care provider before adding supplements or making any changes to your dietary program.
