In today's globalised world, it's easy to find non-seasonal and non-regional foods during any season. However, eating foods out of season comes at an environmental cost. While growing and harvesting requires water and energy everywhere, it's the transport of the goods that really makes the difference here. In this blog post, we want to discuss seasonal eating and how it can reduce ecological impact.
Lower Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Whenever produce is not grown locally or regionally, it needs to be imported from other countries or even continents that have suitable climate to grow them. If your food has had to travel many miles to get to your local supermarket, it is not very sustainable, as carbon dioxide is produced by the ships, planes, or trucks that deliver them there.
Eating seasonal products means choosing the produce that grows in your region, so the transport way is as short as possible. If you want to eat non-regional foods, make sure that they were still grown within your country or even continent. That way, you can reduce the carbon footprint of your own food.
Reduced Need for Energy-Intensive Growing Methods
Seasonal produce includes those fruits and vegetables that are best accustomed to growing in the climate of your area. Out-of-season crops need different circumstances to grow and thus, more energy-intensive growing methods. That can include heated greenhouses, artificial lighting, or other energy-hungry climate controls.
Seasonal crops are grown in their natural climate and light cycle! They still need water and energy for growing and harvesting, but they rely less on fossil-fuel energy for warmth, cooling, or light.
Fewer Agricultural Inputs
Seasonal crops are usually better adapted to local weather patterns at the time of year when they are grown. That means they require less irrigation, fertiliser, or pesticides than an unsuitable crop that is grown in the wrong season. Choosing seasonal produce then also means reducing pollution and resource use. The reduction of pollution is better for your health as well, as fertilisers and pesticides include chemicals that can do us harm as well.
Supporting Biodiversity and Soil Health
Following seasonal cycles encourages crop rotation, where different types of crops are grown in succession in one area, avoiding exhaustion of the soil and better controlling weeds, pests, and diseases. Crop rotation breaks pest and disease cycles, maintains or improves the soil quality, health, and fertility, instead of exhausting it; and reduces the need for synthetic chemicals.
Furthermore, diverse planting patterns also benefit pollinators and other wildlife, overall supporting biodiversity and plant and animal health.
Less Food Waste
Seasonal produce is usually harvested closer to peak ripeness, due to its short transport route, and is sold more quickly, improving both flavour and shelf life while reducing spoilage during the transportation or storage process.
Off-season imports often have to be harvested early as they need to withstand longer journeys to other continents, which leads to lower quality and higher waste.
Encouraging Local Food Systems
Seasonal eating often overlaps with buying from nearby farms or markets. That means, you are supporting local family businesses and strengthening local supply chains by buying seasonal. Local supply chains make food systems more resilient and reduce the environmental cost of packaging, storage, and distribution.
The Bottom Line Is...
Eating seasonally is not just delicious, it also actively reduces transport emissions, cuts down energy-extensive production methods, lowers chemical and water use, and supports healthier farming ecosystems.
The more people that decide to eat seasonally, the more of an impact it will have on the environment. The environmental gains are biggest when pairing seasonal eating with local sourcing and minimal food waste. We hope this blog post helped you understand why seasonal eating is essential for the environment, as the transport of off-season produce to our supermarkets is very carbon-heavy. All of this pollution can be avoided, as most regions have delicious produce options of their own. Plus, it can be really fun to get creative with your local fruits and vegetables in the kitchen. After all, who doesn't love a good recipe that is unique to their region?