When shoppers enter a supermarket, they often do not know where the produce they buy originates. They could be spending money on a clove of garlic laced with poisonous pesticides or week-old fruit gleaming beneath wax and artificial hormones. Why take such health risks when there are reputable farms adhering to California agricultural regulations within one’s own community?

Local produce is not only healthier because it lacks deadly pesticides in obedience to California laws on agricultural chemical use, but it is also sold nearer to the stores. This means that it will not be sprayed with preservatives to give it a false appearance of freshness, unlike the crates of produce imported from foreign countries and far-off states. In abstaining from chemical use, environmental health is also improved. Using chemicals on plants bears the risk of toxic runoff entering water sources, poisoning the aquatic life inhabiting them. This contamination can result in the depopulation of previously life-abundant water bodies and endangerment of already struggling species. Runoff can also end up in reservoirs, increasing the health risk for humans who depend on them for drinking water. Buying produce from farms that use chemicals lends them monetary support, helping them carry on their campaign of health risks and environmental inconsideration.

Imported produce will often not reach its destination until several days have passed from the time of harvest. Fresh produce loses its nutrients quickly. According to the British Dietetic Association, vitamin content of produce is reduced by time and changes in light and temperature, all of which are unavoidable when it is imported from far-off locations. In the week it takes for the fruit to reach a market, its sugars will have turned to starch, contributing to its lack of fresh flavors and textures a consumer enjoys.

Another problem with the long travel time is its impact on the environment. According to the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, supermarket produce travels a distance 27 times greater than that of produce grown locally. This considerably large distance consumes a large amount of fuel for transportation, contributing to air pollution. Not only is fuel consumption environmentally harmful, it also has a negative economic impact. Since fuel nowadays is expensive, shipping companies have to compensate for the price of the fuel, making them drive up the cost of the goods they transport. The consumer who purchases the produce will feel the strain of the extra money they spend on food that is definitely not worth the price with its aged taste and chemical rank flesh. This makes local produce, previously more costly than their imported relatives, closer to the price range of regular produce and therefore a preferable alternative to nutrient-depleted shells of fruits and vegetables.

The higher price of local produce is often the reason buyers veer towards the mystery-origin produce. But in a broader spectrum, a few extra cents makes a difference. Buying local produce not only gives the consumer a better product while helping the environment, but it also ensures that money stays within the local region, letting it circulate and make the community more affluent. London’s New Economics Foundation found that money spent locally generates about twice the income of what it would if spent outside the area. Also, more jobs are created in the locality, giving work opportunities to those who would otherwise be unemployed.

Local produce is usually grown on smaller, family-owned farms. Because individuals typically own these farms, they work hard to preserve their land and maintain a decent income. Buying from these farms supports these individuals and protects communities from large corporation invasions by iron-minded capitalists bent on profiting as much as possible, even if that means selling bad-quality produce beneath a mask of artificial shine and chemical enhancements.

In buying local produce, the consumer does not only consider himself; he also contributes to the greater good of his community, environment and local economy. It fights environmental harm, health risks, unemployment and the large corporations that threaten to crush smaller, family-owned farms. All of these benefits come for a price, that in the long run, is miniscule compared to the improvements they leave in their wake. If the consumer would look beyond the surface of the options before him, the benefits of making the right choice would become evident in due time.