Today is Buy British Day and with growing demand across the country for British grown produce here is why you should have a look at where your fresh produce is coming from. Choosing British produce over imported can help support farmers, the local economy, and small businesses across our communities. Let’s have a look at the benefits of buying British.
More Nutritious
Did you know that local produce is healthier than imported goods. The riper the fruits and vegetables are, the more nutrients they contain. As soon as a piece of fruit or veg is picked it begins to diminish as the plant’s cells shrink. A large bulk of fresh goods sold in a supermarket is grown considering shelf life without bearing in mind that this affects the nutritional value of the goods. Fresh produce loses nutrients during transport as lots of this produce is held in distribution centres and transported over long distances before making it on to the shelves. Eating foods produced in Britain reduces the time between picking to reaching the shelves lessening this diminishment.
Better for the Environment
Choosing British produce is a more environmentally conscious choice too. When British produce is picked it has less distance to be transported than global imports meaning the air pollution caused by carbon emissions is much less. Local businesses are far more likely to use local intermediaries and sellers than huge supermarket chains.
The longer it takes to transport these goods, the higher the chance that some food will spoil and be wasted. Buying locally reduces likelihood of waste during transportation and encourages us to reduce our own waste as it will last longer.
When products are loaded into lorries for long distance journeys a lot of packaging is used to protect the goods from damage. The additional packaging is major contributor to pollution and environment damage.
Local Economy
Buying local produce helps to circulate money back into the economy. It creates jobs for the people in the area and allows small businesses to thrive, financially supporting what we can do here in Britain opposed to importing from other countries. Funnelling money back into the economy will help to further protect the farmland and wildlife the produce comes from in the way of financially supporting the farmers efforts. Keeping local farmers in business for as long as possible will allow for more availability of produce in the future.
Seasons
By eating British food, you will get to buy those that are in keeping with the season as some fruits and vegetables will come in and out of season. This helps to create an excitement about the availability of certain foods. In the UK, strawberries are more readily available in summer with root veg like cauliflower in the winter. Seasonal availability creates an increased demand at these points in the year.
If you can’t find a local market or small grocery seller you can often get fresh local produce delivered or check the origin of your goods in some big chain supermarkets as more and more are starting to offer home grown ranges. There are lots of ways you can support your community and British farmers.
Read more of our blogs here: https://inspirecatering.co.uk/news/