Earth-Friendly Food

Every action we take affects our environment -- including the foods we choose to eat.

One way to get optimal nutrition while helping our planet is by purchasing produce from a local farmer's market.

Not only will you be getting food grown within a proximal geographic location (meaning it has not been sitting in a truck for days, slowly losing more and more vitamins and minerals), you will also be reducing the amount of fuel needed to get your produce.

For instance, if you are living in New York City, you could very well go to a supermarket and get commercial strawberries (shipped in from Mexico) or you could head to your local farmer's market for some delicious ones grown in your same state.

If you live in Seattle, you could buy commercial apples flown in from Argentina -- 10,000 miles away -- or ones brought in from just a few miles away.

After eating local produce, you might find it hard to buy that same item from a standard supermarket again. Flavors are more intense, and things spoil a lot slower (remember, when you buy most produce from a grocery store, you're getting it as much as two weeks after it was picked at a farm).

I find that eating locally 100% of the time becomes very limiting. For instance, avocados do not grow on the East coast of the United States, but that does not mean I will never eat them. Similarly, oranges in the United States come from two places: California and Florida.

The key is to buy locally when the option is presented to you. Feel free to enjoy a Florida orange in Iowa, but try to get your own state's crops from a local farmer. Your body -- and the environment -- will be grateful for the help.