4 Benefits of Farm to Table Eating (+How to Avoid Food Waste)

The concept of “farm to table” is a fairly new one—new because until the Industrial Revolution, people could only eat food that was obtained directly from farms.

Now, however, thanks to our modern agricultural methods and technologies, we’re able to produce massive amounts of food that is then treated with preservatives and shipped around the world.

Unfortunately, modern agriculture has led to some serious drawbacks for our modern diet—from lower availability of certain foods to reduced nutritional value to greater genetic modification. Mass-produced food can be ultimately less beneficial for our health than we realize.

In this post, we’re going to talk about why you should consider fresh farm to table food, including what the benefits of this type of food is. We’ll also look at a truly alarming problem that most of us don’t even think about: the massive amounts of food wasted each year. Finally, we’ll share some simple tips on how to reduce that food waste in your own life.

By the end of this article, your eyes will be open to the very real reasons why farm to table food could be the best choice for your home and family.

The Benefits of Fresh Farm to Table Food

There are a number of reasons you’d do well to consider farm to table food:

Better flavors. If you’ve ever tasted locally grown produce (especially organic) and compared it to the flavors of mass-produced produce, you’ll know exactly what we’re talking about when we say that farm to table food tastes better. There are no chemicals being used to treat the soil before planting, and the nutrients haven’t been leeched from the soil by excessive and repeated over-growing of food. You get the best, most natural, truest flavors from fresh farm food, by a wide margin.

Support local. When you buy fresh food from your local farmers, you’re supporting families that run their own farms and have been doing so for generations. Much of the food available in supermarkets is produced by multi-million (or billion) dollar corporations, but farm to table food is produced by small local businesses or even individuals who are trying to compete and keep their farms solvent. Buying fresh from farms does a lot to keep your local economy flourishing

Higher nutritional content. Experts agree that the nutritional value of local farm foods is typically higher than mass-produced food. Crop rotation, sustainable and organic farming practices, and cover crops all help to keep the soil as rich in nutrients as possible—and those nutrients are absorbed into the food grown there. The highest antioxidant content in fresh farm foods is directly linked to the taste, which is another reason farm foods tend to taste better.

But that’s not all! The farm foods are harvested at the peak of their maturity, when they have the highest nutritional content and flavor. They’re also transported a much shorter distance, so there is less food rot and degradation of nutrients.

Lower cost, greater earnings. With mass-produced food, the farmers who grew it have to be paid, as do the transporters and the distributors that sell the food. While some mass-produced food can end up costing less (the benefit of modern agriculture), less of the proceeds of the sales end up in the pockets of the farmers. Buying directly from the farmers can actually end up being cheaper (in some circumstances) but will earn the farmers more for their work.

These are all amazing benefits of fresh farm to table food. But the biggest benefit is avoiding the food waste that is a much more serious problem than most people realize…

The Alarming Facts About Food Waste

A study out of the University of Michigan made a pretty horrifying discovery: of the food that goes to waste each year, roughly 1/3 of all the food produced globally, around 620 million metric tons could be saved.

The study focused on how refrigeration (particularly in hotter regions like sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia) could reduce the amount of food waste—by as much as 47%. That’s cutting it nearly in half!

(As a bonus, the research found emissions could also drastically decrease as a result of refrigeration.)

But an incidental discovery of the research was that an estimated 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted every year.

Read that again: 1.3 billion tons. That’s a mind-boggling number!

A significant amount of that waste is meat waste, but much of it is still produce (fruits and veggies) as well as grains. This is one of the major downsides of modern agriculture methods: more food is grown than can be consumed locally, and so requires transportation to other locations for processing and distribution. A great deal of the food waste happens during that transportation, processing, and distribution, which is how we end up with so much of the food grown each year ending up being wasted.

5 Steps to Avoid Food Waste in Your Home

Let’s be clear: food waste that happens every year on a global scale is not your fault. All of this happens on a massive level, the result of agricultural corporations and conglomerates expanding their businesses each year.

That being said, if the talk of food waste concerns you—and it should—it’s a good idea to look for ways in your own life that you can reduce food waste at home. Together, we can all help put a dent in the global food waste and take actions that will keep local farmers in business and providing fresh, affordable, high quality food.

Tip #1: Only buy what you need. A lot more food goes to waste in the average household than you might realize, and often because we tend to over-buy. We purchase more than we need so we have options available, but end up cooking less or less variety, which leads to the waste of the foods that didn’t get used. Change your mindset and only buy the fruits, vegetables, and perishables you know you will use.

Tip #2: Plan your menu. Planning a menu every week or month will help you to make Tip #1 a reality. With a set, planned menu, you only need to buy the ingredients that you know will be cooked on a certain day. You can also purchase the food items a day or two in advance to make sure they don’t rot on your counter or in your fridge.

Tip #3: Buy “ugly” foods. The term “ugly” refers to food that has begun to spoil, discolor, or show signs of rot. It’s not rotten food—no one should eat that—but produce that has been bruised, has a few dark spots, or no longer looks as pretty. You’ll often find them in the clearance section of your produce aisle. These foods won’t last long so you’ll need to plan to use them immediately. But they can often be not only cheaper, but also a great way to prevent food from being thrown out.

Tip #4: Preserve your own foods. If your food is spoiling, take steps to preserve it. Pickle, can, jar, boil, bake, or freeze it.

Tip #5: Throw it out only when you can’t use it. You’d be surprised how many foods can find a “second life”. For example, wilted lettuce can be perked up in an ice water bath. Stale bread can be made into bread pudding or croutons, and stale tortillas made into tortilla chips. Turn old, soft, spoiling veggies into soups and stews, and use spoiling fruits for jams and pie fillings. Only throw out food that is visibly molded or rotten.

Wrapping Up:

Fresh farm to table food is not only healthier for you and better for your local economy, but also a great way to reduce food waste. While it may be a bit costlier, a few extra bucks may be worth it to protect the planet and help farmers in your area keep their family businesses alive. You’ll also be more conscientious about what you buy and stock in your fridge, and, putting the tips we shared into practice, you’ll throw out a lot less food from your home.