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Committing to eating locally grown foods doesn’t have to happen overnight. You can get there one small step at a time, Green Living expert Sara Snow told a crowd at the Building a Healthier Lawrence event.
Sara Snow, an author and host of Green Living TV shows on the Discovery Health Network, shares with audiences nationwide ways to eat healthier and help the environment. Snow lives what she learned after spending her childhood on a farm where her family grew most of their own food and heated their home with solar energy.
Why would eating local foods make such a big difference? On average, foods travel 1,500 miles from where they are produced to where they’re eaten, Snow says. That means a lot of wasted petroleum, chemical ripeners and preservatives that could be avoided by eating at least some local foods.
Even large grocery chains and stores like Wal-Mart are jumping on the local foods bandwagon. “In 2008, Wal-Mart alone spent $400 million on local produce,” Snow says. “You can find local foods in these big stores. You really have to get in the habit of looking for the local foods area. It’s really important that we as consumers support that because if we create the demand for those local foods, they will supply it.”
An easy way to make your food choices healthier is to try to eat a rainbow each day. Each color has different nutritional benefits, Snow says. Reds can boost memory, blues are high in antioxidants and have anti-aging properties, while greens can help make teeth healthier. “If you eat a rainbow of colors, you’ll be getting a vast array of nutrients that your body needs,” Snow adds.
Visiting the Web site LocalHarvest.org and plugging in your Zip code will give you valuable information on where to find locally grown foods in your area.
But it’s just fine to take this journey to a healthier diet one step at a time, Snow says.
“I would encourage you to simply baby step your way into eating foods from a system that will be healthier for the planet and healthier for you,” she tells the audience.
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