What can we ordinary people do to become locavores?

• We can commit more and encourage others to buy more local food
• Make it a priority to find and buy locally produced foods, or at least foods that have low travel miles
• Buying local food in local shops maintains and supports local retailers
• Buying local means driving less, which means less emissions
• Contact friends and family who may be interested in ‘shop sharing’ – take turns travelling to local farms and producers to buy food and other products
• Support more small local businesses, not the big supermarkets, which are killing off small businesses rapidly – in the last financial year alone, more than 2,000 small SE Qld businesses closed or joined big chain stores, mostly because of the impact of supermarkets
• Shopping local also means accessing more regional and seasonal products, including organic, biodynamic and specialized products – which greatly benefits specific consumers like schools, hospitals and restaurants
• Shopping local keeps money circulating within your own area
• Both of the above points includes shopping at local farmers and street markets – you can’t get any fresher than that!
• Shopping local creates stronger bonds and relationships between local producers and consumers, which results most often in getting better deals

In reality, the most you’re ever getting from the big supermarkets (who now control over three-quarters of the grocery market) is increasingly tasteless, nutritionally lacking, chemically treated and over-packaged products with huge travel miles. Woolworths’ slogan is ‘The Fresh Food People’ and K-Mart’s slogan is ‘Expect Change’, but don’t expect reduced emissions from any of the big supermarkets, with their products (or products’ ingredients) mostly imported from overseas, and many of their buying decisions damaging Australian industries.