12.23.2010

Buy Less, Buy Logical, Buy Local

The pressure is on, jingle bells, batman smells, buy-buy-buy all the way. The culture of more creates endless pressure, more always needs. Less lightens the load, less creates fullness, lowers pressure. Of course we all live complicated lives and we all must buy stuff, but when we do why not be logical about it, why be driven by the advertising industry's emotional manipulation. Buy only what you need, live within your means, if you need something and can't make it yourself, buy logically, buy locally.

Food is a large fraction of every one's budget and definitely a need. The rise in awareness of the benefits of buying local organic food is exponential and almost everywhere people have some choice. Expanding those choices, producing and marketing more food locally means new jobs in your neighborhood, dollars pumped back into the local economy, lowered greenhouse gas emissions in both transportation and production.

On another level organic cultivation sequesters carbon back in the soil where it belongs. "The extent of carbon sequestration found and the impressive ability of organic systems to capture carbon are important results that should be used by policy makers when planning future agriculture development." Paul Hepperly, The Rodale Institute's research manager.

La Via Campesina is leading the charge of the small scale organic peasant revolution internationally but its up to each of us as individuals to change the world by changing ourselves. Wanting and buying less, buying logically and locally when we must buy creates real long term wealth in our communities.

Create a Local Food Bill

Local Food Plus (LFP)