Food is so central to our lives and inherently has an incredible impact on our lives, communities, economies and more. Food should not have to travel miles and miles to get to our plate. If we can't grow food within a couple hundred km around us, how vulnerable are we when that system fails us one day?
食物是我们生活中很重要的一部分，自然而然地对我们的生活、社区、经济等有着重大影响。食物不应该要经历千山万水才到达我们的餐盘。如果我们不能在几百公里以内种植粮食，假设从远方引进粮食这一系统有一天崩塌，我们的情况该会有多脆弱？
Here are the main reasons why we should consumer more locally:
以下是我们应该选择本地产品的主要原因：
Locally grown produce is fresher and tastier - 本地产的农产品更新鲜、风味更佳
Produce that is purchased in the supermarket often has been in transit or cold-stored for days or weeks, while produce from your local farmer’s market or farm-gate has often been picked within 24 hours of your purchase.
This freshness not only affects the taste of your food, but the nutritional value. Locally grown fruits and vegetables are often allowed longer to ripen, because they do not have to be “rugged” or to stand up to the rigors of shipping, and so can be handled less. (You are going to be getting peaches so ripe that they fall apart as you eat them!).
超市里卖的农产品通常已经在运输线或是冷库存放了好几天甚至好几个星期了，而农夫市集、菜市场的产品一般是24小时内采摘的。
这份新鲜度不仅影响到食物风味，也决定了其营养价值。本地种植的水果蔬菜通常有更长的时间自然成熟，因为它们不需要在还生的时候就摘下来、以承受旅途的颠簸。
Eating local means supporting farmers and producers - 吃本地食物意味着支持农民和生产商
By buying locally grown food you’ll be strengthening your community by investing your food dollar close to home.
Only 18 cents of every dollar, when buying at a large supermarket, go to the grower. 82 cents go to various unnecessary middlemen. Cut them out of the picture and buy your food directly from your local farmer.
购买本地食品等于是将你的餐饮经费投到本土产业，这样能够帮助加强你的本土社区。
当你在大型超市买菜的时候，每块钱中只有18分是给到农民／生产商，剩下的82分则流失到不必要的中间环节。把这中间环节移除，直接从本地农民处购买！
Buying local food keeps us in touch with the seasons - 购买本地产食物让我们和传统的季节／节气保持链接
By eating with the seasons, we are eating foods when they are at their most flavoursome, are the most abundant, and the least expensive.
按照农作物生长的规律，我们可以在其味道最佳、产量最大、价格最便宜的时候享用水果蔬菜。
Buying locally grown food allows us to know more of its story - 购买本地产食物让我们更加了解其背后故事
Whether it’s the farmer who brings local apples to market or the baker who makes local bread, knowing part of the story about your food is such a powerful part of enjoying a meal.
记得“锄禾日当午，汗滴禾下土”吗？那个带自家苹果来市集的农民会有什么样的故事呢？售卖面包点心的烘焙师呢？了解“盘中餐”的故事，是我们的美食体验中非常特别的一部分。
Supporting local food systems generally means less energy, emissions and food miles associated with our food - 支持本地粮食系统意味着减少能源损耗、碳排放以及食品里程
In CERES ‘Food miles in Australia report, 2008’, an average shopping basket of 29 common food items traveled over 70,000 kms—that’s nearly two times the distance around the Earth. Just four imported items accounted for nearly 50,000 kms.
环境负责经济体联盟(CERES)的“2008年澳大利亚食品里程报告”显示，一篮包含29件常见食品的购物篮平均走过了7万公里的路程——这几乎是地球周长的两倍。仅仅4件进口商品就占了5万公里。
Buying local food is investing in the future - 购买本地产食品等于为未来投资
Our present industrialised food system involving transporting food long distances is dependent on the artificially low energy prices that come with ‘cheap oil’. This will not last forever.
World oil production has already peaked, according to some estimates, and while demand for energy continues to grow, supply will soon start dwindling, sending the price of energy (and food) through the roof. Why wait to re-evaluate our food systems when we are forced to, when we can start to build resilient local economies now by supporting energy efficient agricultural methods, like smaller-scale organic agriculture, and local production?
我们现有的工业化、长距离食品运输系统是基于人为压低价格的石油及衍生能源。这种情况不会永远地持续下去。
世界石油开采已经到达了顶峰。人类对能源的需求还在增加，但是供应很快就会开始减少了，从而导致能源（及食品）价格激增。为什么要等到那一天才重新审视我们的食品供应系统？为什么不从现在开始建立强有力的本土经济体——通过高效能的农业，比方说小规模有机农业、本地农业？
Source: https://www.localharvest.org.au/why-is-local-important/