It's a perfect summer day - the kind where you just want to stretch and soak up all the warm sunlight you possibly can. You've finally gotten around to reading that book you've been wanting to read and you happily have no responsibilities for the rest of the day. You just got back from the farmer's market, and have baskets of fresh fruit to snack on. You carefully take a strawberry from it's companions, and oh boy - it is the juiciest, sweetest strawberry you have ever eaten.
Why does a strawberry taste better in the summer? Is is just because our attitude towards life tends to be more optimistic? Or is there another reason?
Believe it or not, there actually is another reason for your strawberry tasting better - and its a scientific reason.
When produce is harvested it, it starts losing it's nutritional value and taste because of the effects of oxygen, heat, and light. This is natural and not something to be scared of, rather, something to be aware of.
When you eat produce that has been grown locally (remember, our strawberries are from our local farmer's market), less time has passed from when its harvested to when it gets to you. The elements have had less time to act. When you buy produce at a store, it has spent anywhere from a few days to a few weeks in travel time PLUS the couple of days it waits on display before you made the purchase. While the food is still perfectly edible, it won't be as fresh as if it was grown locally. The taste and freshness of your produce is just one reason to eat your produce seasonally.
What is eating seasonally? It's eating food when it is in season, aka when it is grown at its natural times of year and close to when it is harvested. We wear different clothes depending on what season it is, eating seasonally is similar.
Where you live will affect what seasonally eating looks like for you. You might even already do it a little bit, without even realizing. I found the best place to know where to start ~ you plug in where you live and what time of year it is, and it tells you what produce is in season! There's an app option or you can check it out here at https://www.seasonalfoodguide.org/.
Another reason for eating seasonally is the effects it has on the environment. Not only does it not taste quite as fresh, transporting produce creates a lot of harmful waste. One study found that transporting produce released the most carbon emissions of all types of transportation. Here's a graph from the study that illustrates it better than I could:
Why are fruits & veggies higher than things like manufacturing and mining?? Food has to be transported very carefully - it's often moved in refrigerated vehicles, which take more energy than a normal vehicle. Also think about how often fresh fruit needs to be in stock. Your local grocery store gets their produce frequently so that way they always have fresh produce in stock.
Buying from local farmers not only stimulates your local economy, they also don't require the same transportation to get their goods to you. They also are more likely to have different foods depending on the season - you won't have to worry about what's in season because they already did the hard work for you.
No matter where you choose to purchase your produce from, buying it based on when it is in season will help you get the freshest, most naturally grown and most eco friendly options. Sounds like a win-win-win to me!
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