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restaurants providing locally-sourced options with everything from lettuce, blueberries and tomatoes to eggs, milk and meat.


Dr. A: Why is local food important?


Get to Know Your Farmers: the Heart of Our Local Food System


by Dr. Samadhi Artemisa, Ph.D., A.P. H


ave you been wondering what all the buzz is about when it comes to local food? Why


should you buy something from a farm in your area and what is the big deal about locally-grown ingredients? Did you know that every food


purchase you make, whether it is from a grocery store, a farmers market, a restaurant, a fast food drive-through, a convenience store, a big box store or a local farm makes an impact on our environment and our local economy? That means that every time you eat something a portion of your investment goes to either a farmer, a manufacturer, a food processing plant or food packaging materials. Another portion of your investment goes to a vast amount of resources: fuel and man-hours to transport the food for up to 6000 miles. The middle men, taxes, chemicals and non-renewable fossil fuels used over and over again for this process have


an effect on our environment and, ultimately, our health. Right here in Central Florida we have a blossoming local food system. This month I interviewed four farmers: Luc Duytsche, owner of A Natural Farm and Education Center; Richard Kann, owner of Heart of Christmas Farms; Jim Hunter, owner of South Seminole Farm and Nursery; Dale Volkert of Lake Meadow Naturals Farm, and local food distributor Emily Rankin, owner of Local Roots.


Dr. Artemisa: What does local food mean to you?


Luc: “Local food means food grown within 50 miles by small farms you can visit and trust.”


There are


numerous farms, markets and


Dale: “Local food is important because if we are not self-suffi cient with the foods we eat and our food supply was cut off at the state border, we would be in serious trouble pretty quickly.”


Jim: “100 years ago almost all of our food was grown locally. With improved transportation (today) our food comes from across the country and around the world.”


Luc: “Locally-grown food is important because of a reduced dependence on trucking.”


Dr. A: And less dependence on gasoline, a fossil fuel that will not be replenished. You are stimulating our Central Florida economy.


Richard: “Local food means local jobs.”


Restaurant


chefs have been reaching out to farms for locally-grown items to include


on their menus. Dale told me he kept getting larger and larger orders from a restaurant he started working with years ago, so he continued to add more and more chickens to his fl ock. Larger fl ock = more local jobs = more robust local economy = more local food.


22 Central Florida natural awakenings


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