The following are some of the reasons why eating seasonally is a good idea. Apart from seasonal food tasting better, it also has numerous health benefits that I have outlined in this article.
Food is better for you in season.
Seasonal food is more likely to be local, and local food will have spent the minimum time in transit. So, sometimes, seasonal food is healthier.
Seasonal food is better for the environment.
If you believe that human activity contributes to climate change then buying air-freighted French beans from Kenya in the winter is foolhardy, given the vast amount of greenhouse gas produced by such unnecessary trade – and especially when there are so much great local vegetables around in winter. Seasonal food fits into traditional systems of farming, which don’t need the same energy-intensive inputs of pesticides, herbicides, and artificial fertilizers as intensive systems.
Seasonal food is cheaper.
Crop permitting, almost anything that’s in the season will be plentiful and therefore cheaper.
Seasonal food supports local agriculture.
Whether it’s from the farm down the road or a specialist producer a few hours away, seasonal food that suits our climate is more likely to have been grown closer to home. Buying locally offers another market for beleaguered food producers, who are often squeezed between the impossible demands of the supermarket buyers and cut-price competition from overseas.
Seasonal food makes you think about preserving.
Jams, chutneys, jellies, pickles preserves … all of these were invented as ways of preserving a seasonal surplus.
Finally, seasonal food brings variety into our lives.
Who wants to eat the same things all year round? There is always a seasonal treat to look forward to in different countries in the world, and once you know what they are, it will change the way you eat and shop – even the way you order in restaurants – and turn each month, even each week, into a gastronomic adventure.