The opinion of eating only locally produced food because of its positive impact on the economy and environment may be very controversial. Although there are several drawbacks regarding this idea, personally, I firmly believe that the benefits by far outweigh them.
On the one hand, consuming food produced only by local farmers, buyers may encounter the absence of certain products. For example, tropical fruits, like bananas from Ecuador, or coffee from Columbia will not be available for citizens of other countries. Moreover, even though some local products are not shipped from abroad, they may be more expensive than imported ones, and people with lower income will not be able to afford buying them. This is caused by the fact that local small-scaled farms can have higher production costs due to seasonal problems with harvest or higher prices for seeds, fertilizers and electricity.
On the other hand, people eating food produced from local farmers contribute to reducing carbon footprint. Any transportation is accompanied by a great amount of greenhouse gas emission; and the longer the distance is, the more harm it brings to the environment. In addition, buying local groceries boost economic growth and increase the GDP’s level, because citizens’ money does not flow away to other countries and stays within a community. Furthermore, local products tend to be healthier and more tasteful because of the fact they are harvested at the peak of ripeness and sold quickly.
In conclusion, despite the higher costs and the need to give up some products because of this idea, its economical and environmental advantages are much more significant.