Is Convenience Dangerous?

Trenton Farmer's Market

Calling convenience dangerous may seem dramatic at first glance, but let's consider it. When we are talking about food we purchase for ourselves and our families, such as fruits and vegetables, how important is convenience in this day-to-day task? To really understand how we got to where we are with food being fast (and I am not talking about McDonalds fast) we need to understand where we came from.

For the sake of narrowing down the huge topic of historical food shopping, let's start in the 16th and 17th centuries, where people acquired their food from markets and fairs held in their towns. They knew every person they bought food from, except perhaps the occasional roving vendor who may sell something grown a bit further afield, but still, what we would consider local today. These markets were bustling with the freshest products from grain and fruit to fish and vegetables. Food availability was limited by what could be grown or preserved during that time of year, so eating seasonally was the only way. There was such an abundance of local, fresh food that, on average, in 17th-century England, there were more than 800 markets in rural and urban areas. That made shopping a hyperlocal experience.

This hyper-local shopping continued until the early 1900s, when most Americans were still living on farms and food was still grown and consumed locally, with limited ability to process or transport food. Then came World War II and industrialization, which ushered in advancements in refrigeration and transportation. Distribution networks grew, and supermarkets started popping up in our landscapes. As a result, the importance of local markets and small-scale farms declined. Convenience became king, and freshness, seasonality, and local food economies became less important.

So, how is this dangerous? Let's use COVID as an example of what happens to supply chains when there is a pandemic. Memories can be short, particularly when convenience runs the show. During COVID, supermarket produce shelves were bare. The reason why is simple. None of that food came from local farms. Remember not being able to get eggs and meat? You know who still had eggs and meat? The local farmers. Local farm sales boomed during COVID, our farm included. Customers began coming out to farms to get produce, meat, bread, eggs, and more because they could not get it at the supermarket. What happened once the supply chain righted itself? A lot of folks (not ALL, and let's give a shout out to those who started shopping locally and never looked back) went back to shopping in the supermarket. This takes money away from farmers who scaled up during this time to meet demand. Local farmers made sure people could get what they needed, and in return, they were left out in the lurch once convenience was available again and the supermarket was stocked with food from afar. This is dangerous because if farmers are not supported, especially after scaling up to meet demand, and they go out of business, guess who isn't going to be there with your eggs the next time shelves are empty. (Like now in fact, except the eggs from Turkey and China filling supermarket shelves). Not having anyone growing food locally feels very dangerous to me. What happens when there is another pandemic, trade war, or climate crisis that sticks a wrench in the supply chain once again? It is only a matter of time.

Not only is convenience dangerous in terms of local economies, but what about the health of the planet? Carbon footprints are real things with real consequences, and yes, climate change is a thing. If you disagree with the reality of climate change, this discussion might not resonate with you. The food system contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions, with a third of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions being linked to food. And yes, we can get into why it is important here to reduce tillage and use organic methods, but we're talking about convenience, so let's stick to the task at hand. It is simple. Buying local can reduce transport emissions.

This brings me to a third point of danger when talking about convenience. Local food is fresher and more nutritious because it doesn't need to be stored and transported. Produce starts losing its nutritional value as soon as it's harvested. For example, bagged carrots in our local supermarkets from California are often months old. It is hard enough to get the nutrients in our diets that we need with fresh produce, so it's damn near impossible with old produce. And I will add that we have local farms in our area that you can get vegetables, meat, and eggs from year-round.

Supermarkets and warehouses of food from all over the world are still the dominant force in the food retail industry, but local food is experiencing a renaissance. Should we put convenience over our local economy, over the health of our planet, or the health of our family? We know people are busier than ever in their day-to-day lives even though we have technology that is supposed to give us more time (Sidebar: the latest studies show the average adult in this country spends 4-5 hours on their phones a day) This bring me to a quote by an unknown author: "Time is a created thing. To say ‘I don’t have time’ is to say ‘I don’t want to do.’ ”

Believe me, I understand the overwhelming feeling of not having time, but let's challenge each other to make time for what matters and hold each other accountable when we do not. One person has so much power to change things; all it takes is giving up a little convenience and making time for what is important. I'll commit to doing better, will you join me?