Food is a constant in our lives, yet few people know where their food comes from or how it got to where they live. With the cheapest food grown in bulk from around the world, many of our staples have chemical preservatives added to make them last the journey, diminishing nutrition.
Community supported agriculture brings high quality, locally sourced food back to the table, allowing people to play an active role in the planting, growth and harvesting of their food, while making family or community owned farms more able to survive without the need to compete on world markets.[1]
But it’s not just about food quality and community bonds! Shipping large amounts of food between countries significantly increases emissions, with many richer companies using land purchased in developing nations to farm produce, meeting emissions targets back home by releasing them abroad.[2]
At the same time, communities dependent upon food from overseas are vulnerable to shortages should any disruption occur, especially in rural areas. Farmers reliant upon imported seeds are affected further, as disruptions impact crop projects for entire years, pushing food prices up and increasing food insecurity.[3]
With 34 countries in the world unable to produce their own food and reliant entirely on imports, and with more countries expected to join them, food insecurity is an issue that needs to be tackled more than ever.[4]
Cited Sources:[1]https://www.localharvest.org/csa/
[2]https://www.theguardian.com/environment/datablog/2011/apr/28/carbon-emissions-imports-exports-trade#data
[3]https://actionaid.org/news/2020/reliance-imports-and-industrial-farming-deepening-food-crisis-across-southern-africa
[4]https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-countries-importing-the-most-food-in-the-world.html
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Cooperative Social Enterprise, Natural Infrastructure
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