Katelyn Goodhart
English 110
Cheryl Marsh
March 5, 2014
Go Local Walmart, Target, Superfresh, Food Lion, and Shoppers are only a few of the grocery stores that the United States provides to Americans. In these grocery stores consumers can find most of the necessities they need for a week or two, including food, hygiene products, and medicine. There was a time when these well-known companies such as Walmart and Target did not exist. Instead people would buy food at farmers markets, produce stands, or butcher shops. They would go to the corner store to buy hygiene products and the pharmacy for their medicine. Americans eventually realized that traveling to multiple locations for the bare necessities was a bit of a hassle and so they created grocery stores. Now, costumers do not have to travel to multiple places for their dinner, shampoo, and detergent; instead they can travel to one place. Grocery stores quickly grew into large franchises that have scattered across every state in the US. Though grocery stores make shopping convenient, efficient, and less of a hassle; they also create multiple dilemmas for communities, the environment, and consumers. Consumers can help limit such issues by shopping as if we were still in the days when supermarkets were not around, to the days when people bought locally. The food that Americans eat does not come from the local farmer anymore. Instead it ships to the United States from across the country or even across the world. Since America is importing food instead of buying it from a farmer, the farming population is decreasing. According to the internet article, “Why Buy Locally Grown?” less than 1% of Americans rely on farming as their primary occupation which means there are fewer than 1,000,000 farmers in the United States. A main reason for the decrease in the farming population is that for every retail dollar sold, the farmer receives less than 10 cents in return which is about equal to the cost of production alone (Why Buy Locally Grown?). In other words, a farmer makes little to no profit from selling his crops to retail stores. This is why buying locally tremendously helps farmers. Farmers who sell directly to their consumers cut out the middleman and in doing so receive full retail for their crops thereupon they make a profit (Grubinger). Furthermore, farmer’s jobs are extremely important; they allow the rest of the community to have a sense of security when it comes to their food. Other countries have not guaranteed to always export food to America which means Americans cannot always rely on other countries to provide the country with food. Consumers need to support the people, their local farmers, who they can rely on to keep them nourished by buying locally. Buying locally helps ensure that there will be farms in communities for generations to come that can provide access to nourishing, abundant food.
Grocery stores do not only affect the lives of farmers, but also a community’s economy. Residential development revenue is much more expensive than that of a farm, forest, or open space, meaning the government spends more money on services for residential development than natural areas of land. The more money the government spends on services, the more taxes increase for Americans and Americans do not like increasing taxes (Why Buy Locally Grown?). Furthermore, buying locally strengthens the economic base of a community as there is a higher chance a local business will reinvest more of a consumer’s money at another local business in the community than a nationally owned business. Having a sound economy allows for consumers to feel secure therefore they will feel more comfortable about investing in their community and not someplace else. Small local businesses also create more jobs for a community considering they are the largest employers nationally (Why Buy Locally Owned?). Local businesses not only provide employment for the people working inside of the business, but they also employ a large number of other services including architects, contractors, insurance brokers, attorneys, and local accountants (The Benefits of Buying Locally). If a consumer does not support his local businesses then the chance of them closing heightens and in consequence many people of his community would lose their jobs. If businesses shut down and people lose their jobs, less money will be circulated throughout the community, weakening not only the economic base, but also the security of the people. Lastly, entrepreneurs and skilled works are more likely to invest in a community that has one-of-a-kind businesses than larger franchises that have much less character (Why Buy Locally Owned?). Such investments will increase the job market and the circulation of money in a community which as stated before, strengthens a community’s economy making it a more promising place to live. Buying locally also contributes to other factors that improve communities. Having local businesses allows a community to stand out and be more unique than a community that is made up of many franchises. People would rather travel to communities that are more memorable as they consist of their own special, one-of-a-kind businesses than travel to communities that have common franchises that any other community could have (Why Buy Locally Owned?). As tourism increases, the chances of other people hearing about the community increases as well which allows for growth of the community. Local businesses also have better service than big businesses since they hire based on a person’s understanding of what he is selling. Unlike bigger companies who hire people just because they can do the basic skills required for the job. Plus, local business employees take more time to get to know their customers (Why Buy Locally Owned?). While employees of big business chains are less likely to get to know their customers because according to reclaimdemocracy.org’s article, “The Benefits of Buying Locally,” “[big] corporations are net disemployers, firing more people than they hire despite record profits” meaning employment is usually not long enough for an individual to have the chance to build relationships with customers. Furthermore, costumers of local businesses are able to build relationships with their farmers as they can ask them questions about what they are buying. On the contrary, people do not have this chance when they buy from a supermarket because the produce they buy is from the crops of a farmer across the country or in another country. Building such relationships allows a consumer to have insight on what he is eating and where it came from which builds trust between the people and the community (Benefits of Buying Local Food). Americans should not only care about the well-being of their community, but also the well-being of their environment. The environment has taken the biggest hit since humans started roaming the earth and it is time for humans to start helping the earth repair itself as much as they can. According to the article “Why Buy Locally Grown?,” on average, food travels over 1500 miles, usually by air or truck, to reach grocery store shelves. These travel methods rely on petroleum and other natural resources that contribute to pollution of the environment. By buying locally, foods do not ship such far distances considering they can be found locally in a community. Fossil fuels are not the only part of shipment that pollutes the environment; packaging also contributes to a large part as it creates trash. Shipping requires more packaging because the foods have to stay as fresh and as safe as they can on their long journey to the supermarket. Farmers markets involve much less packaging because, as stated before, the food is local so it requires little to no traveling whatsoever (Why Buy Locally Grown?). Plus, food at farmers markets use much less toxic agricultural by-products on account of their produce not needing an immense amount of preservatives for it to survive the transportation process which means less pollution of the water, land, and air (10 Reasons to Support Farmers Markets | CUESA). Additionally, “family farmers tend to be good stewards of the land [as] they respect and value fertile soil and clean water,” stated the article “Why But Locally Grown?.” Because of the value farmers see in their land, they provide a great habitat for wildlife as most farms have the essentials needed for wildlife survival: fields, meadows, forests, and ponds. The more wildlife, the healthier an environment is. Moreover, most people enjoy the view of the countryside where there are abundant fields of crops, wildflower meadows, and barns in huge pastures. Buying locally allows farmer’s land to increase in value, decreasing the chances of development which allows for not only the beautiful landscaping to stay, but also the homes of the wildlife (Why Buy Locally Grown?).
The most important factor that a consumer should consider is the health of themselves and their family. If a person should buy locally for any one reason, it should be their health. Produce quickly loses nutrients after harvesting and after a few days, sugars turn into starches, the cells inside the produce shrink, and flavor is lost. Therefore, local produce tastes better and is more nutritious than produce that is found in grocery stores since it arrives to the local store hours after picking (Why Buy Locally Grown?). Plus, the food at farmers markets is seasonal which helps consumers become healthier as they “reconnect with the cycles of nature in [their] region” according to the article, “10 Reasons to Support Farmers Markets.” Additionally, there is a wider range of genetic diversity and variety coming from family farms than commercial farms. Genetic diversity is important because it extends growing season and provides vibrant colors and better tasting produce. Commercial farms are unable to provide such variety because they need their produce to tolerate the distresses of harvesting, packing, shipping, and storage which means they do not contain the natural genetic makeup of local produce that has been around for many generations (Why Buy Locally Grown?). Lastly, local foods are safer foods. Most foods in grocery stores are highly processed and grown using hormones, pesticides, antibiotics, and genetic modifications. Even worse, brightening, waxing, and gassing occurs during transit to some foods (10 Reasons to Support Farmers Markets | CUESA). However, local food is minimally processed so it has little negative effects on human health compared to food grown in distant locations; ergo food shipped from great distances has a much higher potential for safety issues (Klavinksi).
I admit it is sometimes much easier to run to the supermarket than to the local farmers market or the local butcher shop to buy food. I admit farmers markets and butcher shops are sometimes out of the way and open at inconvenient times for a consumer. And I admit farmers markets and butcher shops may not have everything one needs like a grocery store does. Nonetheless, it is more valuable for farmers, the economy, the community, the environment, and the individual to buy locally. The most important reason someone should buy locally is not because it benefits the community or the environment, but because it is healthier for him as an individual. Cathy Jett states: “’ [Consumers who buy locally] can interact with the farmers who are growing their food… they know it’s fresher, and [they know] they’re supporting their community and local farmers… It makes them feel like they have power over their health.’” The healthier and happier the individual, the more he can influence other people to buy locally as well. One person alone cannot make the United States change, but one person can be the first step. Buy locally; help your community, your environment, and most importantly yourself.

Works Cited
"10 Reasons to Support Farmers Markets | CUESA." CUESA. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
"Benefits of Buying Local Food." Green Living. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
Grubinger, Vern. "Ten reasons to buy local food." Ten reasons to buy local food. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
Jett, Cathy. "Locally Grown Food: It's Growing in Popularity FARMS: Farmers are Seeing a Growing Interest in Buying Locally." McClatchy - Tribune Business NewsMay 08 2008. ProQuest. Web. 28 Feb. 2014 .
Klavinski, Rita. "Michigan State University MSU Extension." 7 benefits of eating local foods. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
"The Benefits of Buying Locally." Reclaim Democracy. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
"Why Buy Locally Grown?." Do Something. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
"Why Buy Locally Owned?." Sustainable Connections. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.