9 Reasons Why You Should Start Consuming Seasonal And Local Produce
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And how it can help you live more sustainably
I grew up in Spain and I´ve been following a Mediterranean diet all my life. One of the things that I love the most about Spanish culture is the relationship people have with food. It’s such a thing to gather on Sundays to enjoy a whole 6-course meal, to have a piece of “tortilla” before lunchtime, drinking a glass of wine is correct any time after 12 a.m, putting a drizzle of olive oil spices up any dish and buying in small local markets is a tradition.
Every city has its own local market, where artisans sell their own produce. If you go there on a Saturday morning you will experience a whole bunch of sensations. You will hear agriculturist praising their tomatoes, and cheesemongers talking about the maturity of their cheeses, you will have a mixed smell feeling, something between raw fish and fresh cucumbers and you will see large queues to buy fresh fish, people buying the best cut of meat for their Sunday lunch and farmers selling colorful fruits and vegetables. The love of good food is just one part of our culture.
But besides the amazing experience of buying in a traditional market, one of the things I learned from making my weekly groceries this way is the importance of buying seasonal and local produce, here are 9 reasons why:
- You get a richer flavor
When the product is collected from the tree when it’s fully ripened the flavor is extremely rich. You can´t compare a tomato that was just collected with one that was brought from another corner in the world and tried to get “ripe” during its “voyage”. It’s no lie that the juiciest and most vibrant tasting fruits and veggies are those that are in season.
Usually, the fruits and vegetables that are not local travel miles to arrive at your table and are supposed to ripen while they are on route, to make this process mistake-free chemicals are usually sprayed.
2. You get complete nutritional properties when you exactly need them
Seasonal produce is generally harvested at its peak so it retains its full nutrient and vitamin content.
Nature is wiser than we acknowledge and it adapts the fruits and vegetables to our…
