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Jonny Schwass - "Seriously Seasonal"

10 reasons why local food is best

Posted: 15/08/2009 1:28:43 p.m.

10 reasons why local food is best

1 It gives more dollars to the local economy. According to a study by the New Economics Foundation in London, a dollar spent locally generates twice as much income for the economy.

2 It's fresher. Your local farmers market sells food within hours of plucking it. This freshness affects the taste and nutritional value of your food. Some studies would argue that there is no nutritional difference. I would argue that they are idiots who work in a lab and live on two minute noodles

3 It tastes better. Have you ever tried a freshly plucked tomato from the vine? All it needs is some sea salt, cracked pepper and bunch of napkins. Enough said.

4 It can take longer to ripen. You get peaches so ripe that they fall apart as you eat them because they don't have to be stored or shipped anywhere. Fruit from the USA in the middle of winter is a crime of the highest order and should be punishable by public flogging!

5 It's better for the planet. The less miles that food has to travel the better.

6 It's more seasonal. Food that's in season is more tasty, abundant and less expensive.

7 It makes a great story. Whether its the gardner who brings carrots and heirloom tomatoes or the farmer who brings a whole organic lamb to the restaurant, knowing this part of the story is such a powerful part of enjoying any meal.

8 It protects us from bio-terrorism. Food that has less miles to travel from the farm gate to the dinner plate is less susceptible to harmful contamination.

9 It translates to more variety. Farmers who produce food that will travel less miles, have a shorter shelf life and doesn't have a high-yield demand, are free to try smaller crops of various fruits and vegetables.

10 It supports responsible land development. When you buy locally, you give those with local farms and pastures an economic reason to stay open and undeveloped. Have you ever heard of a property developer knocking down a mall to build a farm?

Until next time

Eat Well and Cook Often

http://www.jonnyschwass.com

User Comments

percyplonk 7/09/2010 9:09:34 p.m.

talking about organic, locally produced etc etc, I would love to buy these products.. however, organic means the produce is not sprayed, so surely costs less to produce, local produce, means these is no carting it from city to city, however these always seem much more expensive, and we are all on a budget these days, so good for the people who can afford it, as for us, we keep having to buy the bulk supermarket expensive but more affordable produce!!! Then we cook... when we have got the time, as we are both working and raising a family...

nzmonstar 7/09/2010 9:12:24 a.m.

Great to see someone overcoming adversity and making a success for himself. Food is a great way of bringing people together and maybe Jonny can use his skills to help the people of Christchurch.

Lemonadey 7/09/2010 8:36:27 a.m.

I agree, I think the more people that understand and follow the Slow Food Movement could assist in the support of local producers: http://www.slowfood.com/ (Petrini, 1986), looking after the food you eat from cultivation to plate, and maintaining a healthy 'localvore' philosophy is a sustainable and healthy way to live. Food always tastes better in season, is better for us reaching optimal nutrition by ripening naturally rather than assisted, is more available and has an attractive pricepoint and seeing and speaking to producers lets us have a choice of what we put in our bodies - we do actually have control of what we put in our bodies. I can't imagine what chemo did to your taste buds, this looks to have been rectified; eating fresh, in season and local ensures you are at low exposure to processed and nutritionally deplete food: prevention is better than cure - what I am saying is the age old adage from Hippocrates, "Let your food be your medicine" and this won't happen without personal considerations.

Giulios 16/08/2010 11:14:37 a.m.

How we can share these 10 reasons with the others cooks? I would like to say one more: Make you feel proud to be eating NZ produce.

Sally 9/09/2009 9:26:38 a.m.

Well said Jonny, I shop local, farmers markets etc. It feels good to chat to the producers, get to know them, support them and the food is terrific.

Sam 4/09/2009 10:29:29 p.m.

I'm liking your recipes, the two you posted actually would go well together over a BBQ, bring on summer!!!

NZ_Batman 14/08/2009 3:13:14 p.m.

Jonny what's good at the moment in fruit and vege, I get confused a little with seasonality as you seem to get most produce all year round now. I do enjoy the recipes form the Chef's any chance you could post a few seasonal recipes covering vegetables?

Jonny Schwass 13/08/2009 9:57:29 p.m.

We have all the right ingredients to make a great food culture in this country. We are also too quick to accept overseas influence. We need to cook whats here, eat it with people you love and plant some seeds so the next generation can do the same. Its that simple.

Harvey 13/08/2009 9:06:27 p.m.

All power to that Jonny. I believe we are learning about the importance of food, seasonality, origin etc in our culture/lifestyle but slowly as we have very little food pedigree, unlike other cultures where food is a major part of their DNA e.g. Italy/France/Spain where this approach is expected..