Buy Local from a Family Farm . . . . Data from the USDA indicate 90 percent of all U.S. farms are considered small family farms, with sales of less than $250,000. These farms account for 68 percent of all farm assets and produce 25 percent of the agricultural production. Small family farmers own 61 percent of farm land. With an average farm size in 2007 of 449 acres, it is clear that industrial farms continue to increase in size dramatically through consolidation..
 

Buy Local, Save a Farm . . . . North Carolina lost 1,000 farms during 2005, tying Florida and Tennessee for first place in the nation, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. These latest numbers continue a trend in North Carolina, which lost 3,000 farms in 2004, also tops in the nation. "North Carolina is a leading agricultural state, but losing farms is one category where I dont want us to be No. 1", said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. "Farm loss has become a chronic problem here. Weve lost more than 6,000 farms and 300,000 acres of farmland since 2002".
 

Buy Local, Get Farm-Fresh Taste . . . . A USDA funded survey found in a response to several questions about their meat purchasing habits, the consumers surveyed ranked price as the 7th most important attribute. Food safety, quality of meat, USDA inspection, tenderness, juiciness and farm-fresh taste all ranked ahead of price. (Find complete survey results at www.farmprofitability.org)
 

Buy Local, Get Better Nutritional Value . . . . A University of Texas study reports that since the 1950's, commercially grown produce has declined 6% in protein, 9% in phosphorus, 15% in iron, 16% in calcium, 20% in vitamin C, and 38% in riboflavin.
 

Buy Local, Know your Farmer, Trust Your Food . . . . The United States last year imported about $10 billion more in food, feed and beverages than it exported, according to Census figures. Even as imports grow in volume and diversity, the number of FDA inspections is shrinking: agency inspectors physically examined just 1.3 percent of food imports last year (2006), about three-quarters as much as in 2003 - inspectors sampled just 20,662 shipments out of more than 8.9 million that arrived at American ports.
 

Buy Local, Save Food Miles (the distance food travels from farm to plate) . . . . According to ATTRA, the food industry in the United States accounts for 10% of our fossil fuel use - of this 20% goes towards production and the remaining 80% is consumed for processing, transport, home refrigeration and preparation. Download the complete article at http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/PDF/foodmiles.pdf
 

Buy Local-Artisanal vs. Industrial-Products . . . . According to Allan Nation (Stockman Grass Farmer), "Artisan (small-scale) agriculture seeks to satisfy the passionate minority, while Industrial agriculture simply seeks out ever bigger markets."

Buy Local, Small Farms Are Not Subsidized . . . . According to USDA, 77% of all farmers and ranchers do not collect government subsidy payments in North Carolina.  Among subsidy recipients, ten percent collected 91 percent of all subsidies amounting to $2.54 billion over 11 years. The bottom 80% the recipients saw only $85 on average per year. (Find details at www.ewg.org/farm).  Footnote: Recently, Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Byron Dorgan (D-ND) introduced an amendment that would place a limit of $250,000 on the amount of farm payments an individual can receive. Grassley said, "This proposal has always been popular and the reality is that with 72% of the payments going to 10% of farmers, we've got a serious problem on our hands."
 

Buy Local, Wait For COOL . . . . Country-Of-Origin Labeling will eventually be implemented in the USA, but industrial agriculture will continue to lobby hard against such regulation. According to the consumer advocacy group Food and Water Watch, 82% of Americans want country-of-origin labeling for both food safety and family health reasons. Consumers Union found even stronger sentiment: 92% of those surveyed said imported-food labels should identify the country of origin.
 

For 14 Reasons "Why You Should Buy Fresh, Buy Local", download a "Buy Local" .pdf