Have you ever paid attention to the little sticker on your apple, or avocado? Or read the packaging your cherry tomatoes come in? Depending on the time of year, there is a good chance that your produce is imported from another state or country in order to make unseasonal fruit and vegetables available to Australians.

While it’s wonderful we have access to these items all year round, you may have noticed the additional expense you incur, or that the quality isn’t quite as good as it could be. There are many good reasons to eat seasonally – here are just a few.

COST

If your goods don’t have to travel by plane to get to you, they will be cheaper. Eating seasonally means produce comes from local farms, so the cost of getting them to the store is reduced, saving you money.

SUPPORT LOCAL

Less transit means a local farmer grew the produce on local soil. Supporting Australian farms allows our farmers to continue to produce local year on year and encourages our agriculture industry to thrive.

VARIETY

In cave man days, they were not able to ship in blueberries when they were out of season! Eating seasonally means having to choose what is able to grow easily in your local environment. You’ll try new fruits and veg recipes, instead of deferring to old favourites.

ENVIRONMENT

The cost to the environment when shipping goods all over the world starts to add up. The ‘food miles’ you clock up buying out of season produce adds to global warming and contributes to pollution. Encourage seasonal eating and you’ll reduce your carbon footprint.

Have you ever thought about eating seasonally? Do you already try and do so? Let us know on our Facebook page. 

For more information- check out the Seasonal Food Guide and Sustainable Table