Unless someone is a prolific gardener/farmer, the idea of eating seasonally can seem a little tricky to navigate within our current food system as the foods we most commonly have access to in large grocery stores have already been harvested and processed many months prior to their availability - often grown on land far, far away from where we live.
Global vs Local
Seasonal variability can be broken into at least two categories distinguishing between a food (mostly focusing on fruits and veggies, but also including grains and meats) that is either produced in season (Global Seasonality, the basis of our current food system) versus a food produced AND consumed in season (Local Seasonality).
When people encourage eating seasonally "eating local" is also often part of the suggestion. Otherwise the "seasonal" food options available have likely been stored in some climate-controlled storage facility for the last six months, and this isn't all bad, especially when we think about consumer convenience.
Global Seasonality: Food that is outdoor grown or produced during the natural growing/production period for the country or region where it is produced. It isn't necessarily consumed locally in the same region.
Global Seasonality is what allows us to have fresh strawberries when there is snow on the ground and root veggies, like potatoes and carrots, when the heat of summer is dripping off of us.
Local Seasonality: Food that is produced and consumed in the same climate zone without relying on use of climate modification or storage to maintain longevity.
Local Seasonality is when a neighbor leaves a bag of oranges or lemons or grapefruit with a sign that reads "Free - Please Take" at the mailboxes, or when a multi-use trail in Western Washington offers ready-to-pick blackberries and raspberries straight off the bush, or in some of the Northeastern states where fresh pie stands open their shutters, or when we see some of our favorite foods drop dramatically in price in response to an abundance of availability at our local grocery stores.
Seasonal and Local Opportunity
Increased freshness
Increased taste
Exposure to unfamiliar varieties of produce (as large commercial operations often focus on very few varieties)
Availability of locally made products that can't meet the demand required for large scale distribution (jams, honey, pickled products, etc.)
Seasonal and Local Barriers
May limit variety in the diet if attempting to solely eat local and seasonal
Products can be more expensive
Products may be viewed as less convenient if they are straight from harvest and require more prep time
Products may be harder to find/access depending on location
Agriculture & The Environment
The topic of seasonal, local eating comes up often in regards to sustainability. When we consider the environmental impact of our current food system, it can be hard to extract which processes are most detrimental to a sustainable system as well as which parts contribute most to climate change. Water, land, soil and biodiversity are all critical to sustainable agriculture.
Water - Obviously, there are very few living things that don't require water to sustain life. According to National Geographic, "37% of our total water use is for agriculture".
Land - In Maricopa County alone, more than half of all designated land for crops has become reassigned to urban development (i.e. building) according to the Department of Agriculture (USDA). Arizona is not the only state losing farmland. In fact, the USDA reports a major decline in farmland, from 1.5 million acres to 500,000 acres across the United States, since the 1970's.
Soil - A healthy soil is actually its own ecosystem with a slew of microorganisms and organisms that survive in the environment the soil provides. Our food availability (and nutrient content) largely depends on healthy soil, but intensive crop production (as seen in our current system) that requires the same plots used season after season to grow the same plants depletes soil of its health and its ability to provide.
Biodiversity - Biodiversity generally refers to variety in plants, animals, and environment. Maintaining biodiversity is essential to agriculture as plants, soil and animals (including humans) depend on one another for the nutrients we need to survive. Industrial agriculture largely disturbs this type of symbiotic ecosystem by altering and polluting the environment we depend on, sometimes to the degree that it becomes unusable.
Food production, food processing, food miles and food waste are forcing us to address whether our food system is actually sustainable (meaning can we sustain the system as it is now AND for years to come, without it adversely impacting our own health and the health of our planet).
Seasonal, Local & Nutritive Benefits
Most research indicates that nutritional quality reaches its peak at harvest and then progressively declines with time. This is some of why we see "seasonal" and "local" marketed so heavily, and this is also why "food miles" (the distance an item has traveled since harvest) is even considered outside of its environmental impact.
But, it feels necessary to mention that humans have survived non-grow seasons for centuries by relying instead on preserved and stored foods; and that while storage and transportation is related to some micronutrient losses, these losses are typically minimal in the big picture (especially if comparing eating "non-seasonal" produce versus not eating produce at all).
Time To Eat!
Outside of nutritive benefits, eating seasonal and local when possible can support our smaller and mid-range local farms that are incapable of keeping up with large scale farming productivity. One benefit of the smaller farms that is worth highlighting is their ability to provide more varieties of fruits and veggies, which in turn provide increased opportunity to access different nutrients when consumed.
So, how does someone eat seasonally? FoodPrint is a non-profit organization dedicated to research and education on food production practices. They've created a Seasonal Eating Challenge that incorporates four basic steps:
Use the Seasonal Food Guide and find food that is local to your area and in season.
Find a new cooking technique (some ideas are listed in the challenge).
Try your new technique with your seasonal finds and practice.
Try at least one new food a week! The Real Food Encyclopedia is a source that distinguishes foods that are sustainable (or unsustainable).
Next Up: "Self-Compassion", "Action For Happiness", and "Food Waste"
References:
1) “Biodiversity and Agriculture.” FoodPrint, https://foodprint.org/issues/biodiversity-and-agriculture/. Accessed 23 Oct. 2021.
2) Degradation/Restoration | FAO SOILS PORTAL | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. https://www.fao.org/soils-portal/soil-degradation-restoration/en/. Accessed 23 Oct. 2021.
3) Edwards-Jones, Gareth. “Does Eating Local Food Reduce the Environmental Impact of Food Production and Enhance Consumer Health?” Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, vol. 69, no. 4, Nov. 2010, pp. 582–91. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1017/S0029665110002004.
4) “Farmland Is Disappearing in Maricopa County; Meet the Coalition Working to Save It.” KNXV, 23 Dec. 2020, https://www.abc15.com/news/state/farmland-is-disappearing-in-maricopa-county-meet-the-coalition-working-to-save-it.
5) Macdiarmid, Jennie I. “Seasonality and Dietary Requirements: Will Eating Seasonal Food Contribute to Health and Environmental Sustainability?” Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, vol. 73, no. 3, Aug. 2014, pp. 368–75. Cambridge University Press, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0029665113003753.
6) “News Detail.” Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, http://www.fao.org/soils-2015/news/news-detail/en/c/277682/. Accessed 23 Oct. 2021.
7) “Why Is America Running out of Water?” Science, 12 Aug. 2020, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/partner-content-americas-looming-water-crisis.
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