Encouraging and use local trade helps our Enviroment & the Humanity
BEST PRACTISES AT PURCHASING
- Plan purchases responsibly
- By making a list of the products we need, researching and searching for ethically responsible products not only saves money in your pocket, but also avoids buying too many products, thus reducing waste. Developing a tour of the products and establishments to visit helps to encourage local, fair and respectful trade.
- Buy fair trade products
- Purchase products/services with certification
- Acquisition of local product
- We encourage and use local trade as an indispensable part in achieving responsible purchasing. In this way CO2 emissions from the transport of goods and power companies and local businesses are reduced.
Local markets are the ones which the trade is developed entirely in the field of usual mobility of the different agents involved. It has been estimated that we could consider as local those circuits that occur within a radius of 50 or 60 kilometers (depending on the enviroment and area) - Km 0 is a concept that refers to the distance that food travels from the place where it is produced until it reaches the consumer; it is a widely used concept in the study of the environmental impact or ecological footprint of food. In addition, it is one of the concepts around which revolves the slow food philosophy and its network of restaurants, which prepare menus with products that have traveled a maximum of 100 km from its place of production to the restaurant. in question.
- Rely on products with labels:
- We encourage and use local trade as an indispensable part in achieving responsible purchasing. In this way CO2 emissions from the transport of goods and power companies and local businesses are reduced.
6 reasons to consume locally
- It promotes sustainability: by consuming products from our town or region, we avoid having to be transported from one place to another, and this reduces the emissions of gases into the atmosphere, that is, their carbon footprint. These fruits and vegetables can be considered KM0, as they go from the garden to the shops on almost the same day. In addition, many Spanish producers are promoting environmentally friendly crops, so everything used to care for them must respect the land, water, air and fruit.
- They are of better quality: when a product can be harvested the same day it goes to the stores, we give it time to develop all its tastes and generate sugars, which will make it much tastier. For example, a fruit of local origin is harvested when it is at its optimum ripening point and the next day it is on the counter of a fruit stand so that it can be bought. In contrast, a lawyer who is picked up in Mexico takes more than 10 days to arrive in Spain, so it is picked when it is still green and cannot mature on the tree.
- They are more frequent and healthy: following what we explained in the previous point, a product that has just been harvested retains all its properties and nutrients intact, while one imported from a distant country, does not offer the same . This makes vegetables and fruits of local origin healthier and tastier.
- We contribute to the local economy: It is clear that when we buy any food we are contributing to the creation of jobs, but when we buy local produce, we are helping companies here, making it easier for them to continue hiring staff in our territory. In addition, if we shop in neighborhood stores, we also lend a hand to small and medium-sized businesses, so that local trade can be maintained.
- They are more controlled in the health field: the crops of Spain are subjected to quality and health controls constantly, to ensure that they have not been sprayed with harmful products, that they have been irrigated with the right water, etc. . However, products that come from abroad do not go through all these controls and it should be borne in mind that in other countries the use of substances that cannot be used here is allowed. That is, some imported products may have been treated with chemicals that are banned here.
- Their prices are fair: we have often heard the phrase "local products are more expensive", and it is not entirely true. It is true that the products here may be slightly higher in some respects, but this is not the case. Here, field workers have the same rights as any other worker, so this is a cost to companies, unlike contracts made elsewhere. In addition, we cannot forget that local producers are constantly investing in improving and maintaining their facilities to get closer to making crops more sustainable, and that comes at a price.
From 8inSpain, we are convinced that these cents stop being hot when we eat a tasty and quality product, which we know has not been stored for weeks, or transported from the other end of the world, or sprinkled with harmful products by the health and the environment.
Related links to get more information:
http://mediambient.gencat.cat/ca/05_ambits_dactuacio/educacio_i_sostenibilitat/educacio_per_a_la_sostenibilitat/suport_educatiu/experiencies_centres/alimentacio/informacio/6/
https://www.km-0.cat
http://mediambient.gencat.cat/ca/05_ambits_dactuacio/educacio_i_sostenibilitat/educacio_per_a_la_sostenibilitat/suport_educatiu/experiencies_centres/alimentacio/informacio/6/
https://www.km-0.cat
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