Globalization, industrial agriculture, and preservation methods have made food accessibility possible all year, especially for colder regions such as upstate New York where most agricultural activities stop in the winter. However, they do have their drawbacks, mainly driving up the carbon footprint associated with food production. While it’s impossible to produce food without greenhouse gas emissions, there are reasonable steps that we can make to reduce the overall energy consumption. For instance, eating locally produced and in-season produce eliminates the need for transportation, thus cutting 14% of the total energy needed to get food to your table. This choice would also save the energy need to preserve the food for months, if not years.
In addition, eating local and in-season food would have immense health benefits, given that they would be free of potentially harmful chemical preservatives. The fresh fruits and vegetables would also be richer in nutrients. Moreover, consuming local food is an excellent way to support the local farmers and businesses. Given all these benefits, you might wonder which produce are currently in-season in New York. We’ve got you covered. Here is a list of fruits and vegetables to consider this Spring.
Fruits: Apricots, strawberries, blueberries, cherries
Vegetables: Asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, lettuce, onions, peas, radishes
This list is obviously not an exhaustive list, and you can look for the seasonality of other produce with this tool, Seasonal Food Guide. This website can even tell you the seasonality of produce different regions across the U.S.
Written by Kelly Jean, Class of 2022
Photo Credit: Unsplash