Buying and eating locally produced and organic food can have significant environmental, social and health benefits.

• Buying your food from a local produce shop or Farmers Market means that you can talk directly to the producer and it keeps the money in the local economy.

• Locally sourced produce is often fresher than food that has travelled great distances and has higher nutritional value.

• Knowing where your food comes from means that you can make more informed decisions over what you buy, giving you greater control over animal welfare and food standards.

• Organic produce is healthier for you and the environment - it contains no chemicals, involves lower energy inputs, improves soil quality and produces lower CO2 emissions per hectare than intensive agriculture.

‘Food miles’ describes the distance that food has travelled before it reaches your shopping basket. Take the traditional Sunday lunch; Australian beef, runner beans from Thailand, Italian potatoes, South African carrots, broccoli from Guatemala and fruit from America and New Zealand. Travel total: 49,000 miles - each mile using more precious fossil fuel energy.

Compare that with buying similar ingredients from a local farmers’ market: Beef from Godalming, potatoes from Milford, carrots and seasonal vegetables from Milford and seasonal soft fruit from Petersfield and cream from Churt. Travel total: 40 miles.

The Organic Option

Most organic food is sold on the basis that it is healthier because it contains fewer chemical residues from pesticides and fertilisers, but there are also significant benefits of organic farming for the environment, including helping to combat climate change:

• Lower energy inputs, greater energy efficiency.

• The quality of the soil is improved - improving its ability to absorb atmospheric carbon.

• Overall, organic farming results in 40-60% lower CO2 emissions per hectare than intensive agriculture.