When countless diseases ridge our daily life, health became a greatly pressing concern, incting a vast majority of individuals to believe that they should only purchase locally grown products. This essay will discuss the plausible drawbacks and benefits resulting from this shift.
On one hand, it is undeniable that locally harvested food is usually safer to consumer. Buyers usually don’t have to worry about detrimental illnesses affecting their overall well-being due to pesticide-sprayed vegetables or chemical-fed cattles as farmers in regional areas often focus on growing their customer base, catering to a humble number of loyal consumers, differing from popular manufacturers whose goal is to prioritize quantity over quality in a short period of time. Furthermore, financially supporting local businesses aides them in their economical growths, which in terms enhances the quality. With a stable income, local establishments are able to enhance their facilities, try out a more dynamic range of products, as well as applying the lastest technology to their agricultural practice, all of which significantly boost the quality of their services. The customers, witnessing such a sharp change in their products, will feel more inclined to spend more in order to back up their local agricultural practioners. The process is akin to symbiosis, where both parties are mutually benefitting off each other.
On the other hand, locally grown food is very limitted due to the climate condition. Some crops cannot be grown in certain soil, certain weather or without certain technology, for example, cabbage is only grown in cold climate, while corn is planted in tropical areas. Therefore, while this does not directly impact one’s health like manufactured food, it can also lead to a lack of necessary nutrients that can impede various human’s biological growths. For instance, scarcity of vitamin B are usually linked with anger issues, mental problems and the inability to function of numerous organs, mainly relating to the brains. Additionally, food harvested domestically is proven to be more expensive. If on the market, an orange is worth 1 dollar, then usually, the price is doubled in comparison to local products. Possible underlying reasons for this may be the fact that crops take a longer time to grow without the help of biochemical substances, and cattles need to be raised in a non-industrial enviroment, meaning that the caretakers usually have to inspect them one by one. Such work requires a substancial amount of effort and patience, which is a reasonable cause to put a more hefty sum on the price tag.
Hence, I heavily believe that balancing out between local products and manufactured goods is crucial to ensure the best possible outcome where the consumers, us, are able to make the most out of it. Maybe buy from your local convenience store during the weekends, while buying the other on weekdays, it does not matter how you plan it, as long as you deem it fit. With that said, weighing the positive and negative impacts is more vital than ever, and such fact cannot be ignored nor made light of.