Farmers' Markets Reduce Pollution and Help the Environment

The transportation system that distributes food produced at long distances from the point of consumption also contributes substantially to resource consumption, air and water pollution, and habitat loss and fragmentation. According to Gail Feenstra of UC Davis Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, food typically travels 1500 miles from food to fork, a 25% increase over 1980. Time delays due to transport over long distances increase opportunities for contamination and loss of nutrients. -Nutrition and food production systems: a role for health care institutions, by Ted Schettler MD, MPH, Science and Environmental Health Network, July 2004

Produce sold in supermarkets has traveled an average of 1,300 miles from farm to shelf, according to the University of Massachusetts Extension, and is chosen for its ability to withstand industrial harvesting and shipping. –Farmers Markets Feed the 100 Mile Diet, CNN.Com, September 2007