Invest in a CSA

Support local farms to help the environment—and yourself

Hopefully you’ve started to make some changes in how you drive, power your electronics, and wash clothes and dishes. Today, let’s take a look at food options. And no, I’m not going to tell you to stop eating meat (we’ll dig into that another day).

Take a look at what’s on your dinner plate or in your fridge. The food you eat was probably shipped in from a location far from your home. That’s true for fresh produce, especially in winter, when most temperate locations are too cold for farming. It’s also true of other items in the kitchen: the sugar you put in your tea or coffee, for example (not to mention the tea leaves or coffee beans).

But that comes at a major environmental cost, one we can vastly reduce by buying food locally. One of the easiest ways to do that is to invest in a CSA.

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture.¹ Different CSAs work in different ways. Some require their supporters to pay up-front for an entire year. This is often in late winter and the incoming funds help to cover the costs of planting and harvesting for the entire growing season. Others have monthly or seasonal subscriptions. Either way, you are investing in a local farm—and you get a box of produce and/or other local products (e.g., meat, dairy, honey) from them at regular intervals.

Support the local economy—and reduce your grocery bill

CSAs have lots of advantages. You’re getting super fresh food, usually raised organically or with minimal pesticide use, which is better for the environment and your health.² You’re supporting local, family-owned farms, which helps keep them in business. And your money stays in the community, which supports other locally owned businesses.

If you support a CSA, you won’t be buying much produce (or meat, dairy, honey, or other products) at the grocery store. You’ll probably still shop at your local grocery store, but not for items you can get from your CSA. To be clear, you won’t be spending more money on food, you’ll just reallocate where you spend it. Because you’re buying directly from the producer, prices will be lower, so you’ll probably spend less overall.

Cut your carbon footprint

All of this is a major advantage from a climate standpoint. A 2022 study found that globally, transportation associated with food production contributes a whopping three billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere each year.³ That’s almost 20% of the carbon dioxide associated with food production, as a whole, making this an easy way to reduce your carbon footprint.

The researchers calculated out food miles—the number of miles an item of food travels to get from farm to table. For fruits and vegetables, those miles can really add up. Transporting produce creates twice as much carbon dioxide as the process of growing and harvesting those foods. Which means buying from a local farm—one located 10, 15, or even 40 miles from your home—makes an enormous difference, compared with produce that’s shipped hundreds or thousands of miles before reaching you.

Popular Science did a nice write-up of the study if you want to know more.

Not sure you can find a CSA where you live? Odds are, there’s one a lot closer than you think, even if you’re in a big city. Check out Local Harvest to learn more.

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Coming Soon!

Have young people in your life who are worried about climate change? Animal Climate Heroes! is perfect for ages 8 and up. It’s packed with fun information about animal climate heroes (of course!) as well as practical steps kids can take to become climate heroes themselves.

Available March 5 from all booksellers. Or you can pre-order now.

1. USDA. Community Supported Agriculture. https://www.nal.usda.gov/farms-and-agricultural-production-systems/community-supported-agriculture

2. Karen Feldscher. Health benefits of organic food, farming outlines in new report. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/health-benefits-organic-food-farming-report/

3. M. Li et al. Global food-miles account for nearly 20% of total food-systems emissions. Nature Food. 2022. https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-022-00531-w