Learn how your comment data is processed. Growing your own vegetables and fruits offers numerous unique health and wellness benefits, and homegrown foods should be at least a part of everyone’s diet. Doing This One Thing Can Help Rescued Farm Animals This Winter, 5 Ways to Help Wild Animals Survive the Winter Time, 10 Must-Read Environmental Books From 2020, 5 Simple Tips to Keep Your Pet Safe Around the Fireplace This Winter, The Defense Industry, an Overlooked Environmental Villain, ‘He is Our Christmas Miracle’ Says Family Reunited with their Senior Black Cat After 7 Years, 10 Mental Health and Wellness Apps to Use in 2021, Tips for Taking Care of Your Endocrine System on a Plant-Based Diet, Magnesium: How to Get Enough and Which Foods Are Best, How an Anti-Inflammatory Plant-Based Diet Can Boost Your Gut Microbiome, Brooklyn Borough President Speaks Out Against Trump’s Roll Back on Nutrition Requirements in Schools, 10 Anti-Viral Herbal Supplements to Boost Your Immunity. Gardening can help you save money, improve your health, and even invigorate and revitalize one’s mood. You are not only producing fresh food but also enjoying physical, mental and environmental benefits. Certain foods, such as wheatgrass, are particularly simple to grow but are packed with nutrients. Dark Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies   As Noble Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai states, “Climate change is life or death. For more Animal, Earth, Life, Vegan Food, Health, and Recipe content published daily, subscribe to the, Deck the Halls With These 30 Vegan Main Dishes for Christmas, How to Choose a Ripe Winter Squash (and Avoid the Bad Ones in the Bunch! Starting to grow our own food is therefore best. Think growing your own food is a walk in the park? Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically. Growing your own food and supporting small-scale, local organic and ecological farming are important practices of authenticity and ecological living. The Benefits of Growing Your Own Food. #2 – Get More Nutrients As I’ve already mentioned, nothing beats the freshness of getting your fruits and vegetables from the garden to the plate in a matter of minutes. Food in its rawest, freshest form is not only the tastiest way to enjoy it, but also the most nutritional. Health Benefits of Growing Your Own Food. ), Zoochosis and the Many Ways We Have Failed Zoo Animals, Monkey Kept in Crate for 7 Years Has the Best Reaction to His New Sanctuary Home (VIDEO), Plastic Toxins Are Leaching Into Your Food And Water – Here’s How To Avoid Them, Chocolate Covered Cheesecake Bites [Vegan], Wake Up to These 15 Quick and Easy Vegan Breakfasts on Christmas Morning. If you cannot afford to buy organic food, you won’t have to put your money towards industries that rely on practices that pollute and harm the environment’s health (and human health). ‘ In backyard gardening, one can ensure that no harmful chemicals are used in growing the food. Why go to the trouble of growing your own food when it’s so easily available from supermarkets? Vegetable gardens allow families to produce their own food organically. Of the many public health and environmental risks associated with burning fossil fuels, the most serious, in terms of its potentially irreversible consequences, is a phenomenon we have all become familiar with – climate change. Building a vegetable garden is also a great way to teach your children about the importance of utilizing whatever bounty the earth has provided to its fullest and avoiding waste! Because... 3. We are using organic fertilizers. The Health Benefits of Growing Your Own Food March 13, 2019 Food Although the day may very well come when the members of our society are forced to grow their own food, there are so many health benefits to this practice that it makes sense to … The last and maybe most important reason for some is growing your own food can shrink your grocery bill. These farming practices reduce biodiversity, rely heavily on pesticides and commercial fertilizers, involve heavily mechanized farming practices, incorporate genetically engineered seeds, and result in a loss of soil nutrients. Additionally, growing your own food diversifies your palate and exposes your diet to healthier foods – especially if you choose to grow a variety of fruits and vegetables. Please support us! You’re aware of any challenges that came along the way. Here are 9 powerful benefits of growing your own food: The food is whole, unprocessed, and—if organically produced—is free from toxic residues. Makes You Healthier: One of best benefits of growing your own fruits and vegetables is that it connects you to your food more because you know where your food comes from. When you grow your own vegetables, you can control the conditions and stop worrying about the safety of your food. There are lots of benefits to growing your own food, especially when getting kids involved, which I’ll share below. According to a 2014 report by the National Gardening Association , 35 percent of American households are growing food at home or in a community garden. Check out this recipe for my easy Vegetarian Chili! If you buy non-hybrid, heirloom species, you can save the seeds from the best producers, dry them, and use them for the next growing season. Please consider supporting us by donating! Lines and paragraphs break automatically. But it also benefits the earth. There is the taste pleasure of sampling the fruits of your labor, fresh off the plant, as you work. This large-scale, long-distance transportation of food relies heavily on the energy from burning fossil fuels. In fact, it can be the driving force behind making better choices about what you put on your food, and will also help you take an interest in the origins of your food. Eating food grown right in your own backyard offers vitamins for good health, an opportunity for a small business, and the satisfaction of doing your part for an improved environment. The benefits of growing your own food are endless. Whether you are growing a single tomato plant or have a large backyard garden, it is beneficial to your health, as well as the environments. By growing your own vegetables, you are also helping to preserve the environment. Rather than dropping 100s of dollars and month at the market on foods that don’t truly nourish you, spend time in the garden, outdoor, exercising, learning to raise your own food. I wrote recently about the 21 benefits to having an allotment and growing your own. Involvement in gardening helps to improve cardiac health and immune system response, decrease heart rate and stress, improve fine and gross motor skills, flexibility and body strength. The fuller the jar is, the greater the environmental impact, and the more components involved in producing your food and bringing your food to your plate. There’s no need there. Saves a Lot of Money: Growing your own food allows you to avoid all of the negative repercussions that come along with monocultures, while protecting your health and the environment’s health. To learn more about the benefits of what we like to call “eating the rainbow,” check this out. Here are 5 of the most important benefits of “growing your own health food:” Now the EPA considers 60 percent of all herbicides, 90 percent of all fungicides, and 30 percent of all insecticides carcinogenic. Planting, weeding, watering, and caring for your plants will provide you with a workout that is meaningful. When you take into account the typical energy cost of transporting food to your local grocer, it is estimated that an average distance of 1,500 miles is traveled before the food is consumed. This can also be a fun, family task to take on to make an environmental impact together and to teach your children the importance of going green. Gardening is a fun way to get outside for some fresh air and physical activity. More often than not, fossil fuels are refined and purified into a usable form, leaving excess waste material that requires disposal. Introduction and Need. By growing your own food, even if you just start with a few crops, you are contributing to a healthier you and a healthier planet. Growing your own produce is a simple solution to numerous health, environmental, and economic problems. The majority of produce sold in grocery stores go through a long process of being harvested, shipped and distributed to stores. Instead, they help in increasing their population. In order to help your crops flourish, you have the chance to learn about the weather and other environmental factors that may not have been relevant for you to be aware of before. Then there’s the concern of monocropping, or growing only one type of crop in a large area of land. Therefore, you know exactly what you are putting into your body, and you know the health benefits of growing your own food. If you garden you know its stress-relieving qualities and health benefits from exercise. The easiest way to imagine how growing your own food reduces your carbon footprint and benefits the planet is to think of food production and distribution in terms of an empty jar. You can purchase organic seeds and over time, save your own. In addition to the tangible benefits of growing your own vegetables and fruits is the intangible benefit of a better quality of life. Growing your own food garden contributes to your food security by providing direct access to food that can be harvested, prepared and fed to your family daily during the growing season. It may seem a strange question to ask on a website dedicated to gardening but sometimes it’s useful to take a step back and ask why we invest so much time and energy. This is a huge benefit for consumers who recognize the benefits of organic foods, but are wary of paying an added cost at the grocery market (Raab & Grobe, 2005). 1. Truly organic – only by growing your own produce will you be able to control exactly what goes into the soil and on the food for it to grow. In fact, the latest EPA information on U.S. pesticide usage, from 2007, reports that over one billion tons of pesticides are used in the U.S. every year. Five reasons to grow your own food include: When growing your own food, your diet is more diverse and healthy, packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Bringing it back to the empty jar analogy, the heaviest jar, or the jar with the largest carbon footprint, is the jar filled with the components needed for conventional methods of consuming food. Despite fossil fuels containing large amounts of energy,  they are rarely found in a pure, untouched state. Getting regular exercise can relieve stress, anxiety and depression, while boosting energy. Long-distance transportation of produce relies heavily on fossil fuels. Sign up for daily news from OneGreenPlanet. Gardening is a great way to absorb vitamin D, known as the sunshine vitamin. John from http://www.growingyourgreens.com/ shares with you his top 9 reasons why you should be growing your food instead of buying it. It is the new global battlefield. Growing your own food, especially for the first time, opens up a great learning opportunity. We’ve all had that friend with the organic garden and after trying one of their vegetables had the “Wow! Growing your own produce lets you control what ends up on your family’s table. Also, by growing your own food, you are not using chemicals or pesticides that can harm environment. Lastly, being publicly-funded gives us a greater chance to continue providing you with high-quality content. The physical activity required in gardening has proven to promote physical health. It is being presented as if it is the problem of the developed world. The 5 main benefits of growing your own food; The nutritional factor; The different type of plants/seeds; Grow your own food even if you don't have much space; I look forward to sharing with you. You can make sure to create an organic … I'd love to have a readers show where I answer your questions. 4. Fresh, garden foods not only contain almost every essential vitamin and mineral but also the vital enzymes the body uses to prompt a host of chemical processes, such as those involved in cell metabolism and nutrient absorption. More Nutritious. Agricultural use accounted for 80 percent of pesticide use in the U.S. This is 22 percent of the estimated 5.2 billion pounds of pesticides used worldwide. You can save a lot of money by growing your own vegetables and fruits. First off, children whose parents have a garden more than double their overall fruit and vegetable consumption. Get connected with Healthy UNH!HEALTHY.UNH@UNH.EDU, Copyright © 2021  •  TTY Users: 7-1-1 or 800-735-2964 (Relay NH)USNH Privacy Policies  •  USNH Terms of Use  •  ADA Acknowledgement. Seriously, watch your snap peas, cherry tomatoes, strawberries, or anything they can easily grab off the vine. Growing food in the backyard garden could mean a healthier produce in terms of the fertilizers and pesticides used. Plus, when you grow your own, you eliminate “food miles.” This benefits you because, again, the food is fresher. Mars Introduces Vegan Topic and Bounty Candy Bars! Happy gardening! We also know that, if not more than... 2. But we are using conventional methods by growing our own meat. Recently I have noticed a campus-wide discussion examining the pros and cons of the sale of energy... Sarah’s Easy Vegetarian Chili  Health is the first and foremost topic we need to explore. Growing your own food is a great way to save money, eat healthily and live more sustainably. You are also likely to preserve or use up your supply before it spoils. The benefits of growing your own food with your kids could fill numerous books. You decide what kinds of fertilizers and pesticides come in contact with your food. Your grocery bill will shrink as you begin to stock your pantry with fresh produce from your... Reduce your environmental impact.. Backyard gardening helps the planet in many ways. By spending a few dollars on seeds, plants, and supplies in the spring, you will produce vegetables that will yield pounds of produce in summer. If you live in a part of the world that becomes cold and snowy during the winter, check out this post on inexpensive ways to grow food in the winter! That tastes so delicious and fresh!” reaction. Saving Local Species: We can save a lot of wild and local biodiversity by increasing our own vegetables. Being publicly-funded gives us a greater chance to continue providing you with high quality content. This gives you a higher appreciation for the earth, your body, and your responsibility for taking care of them both. As you avoid some of the negative sides to shopping for food – including a heavy dependence on fossil fuels, carcinogenic pesticides and fertilizers, and monocultures – growing your own food can give you something you may not have considered: exercise. List of Growing Your Own Food Benefits: 1. If you are growing your own food, you can decide what goes on, or what doesn’t go on, your produce. In fact, it is estimated that we currently put nearly 10 kilo calories of fossil fuel energy into our food system for every one kilo-calorie of energy we get as food. Check out our most recent cooking video! Once distributed, the produce can end up staying in storage or on the shelf for an extended period of time before being purchased, losing nutritional value. There are many ways in which food may become contaminated, whether at the farm, the manufacturer or the transportation center. Additionally, growing your own food diversifies your palate and exposes your diet to healthier foods – especially if you choose to grow a variety of fruits and vegetables. ‘ On the other hand, food items brought in supermarkets and grocery stores may be exposed to toxic chemicals that may be harmful to one’s health. In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved the use of many pesticides that were not yet extensively researched and were later linked to cancer and other diseases. I extolled the virtues and great experiences you gain as a result of growing your own food. Just ask the 42 million American households who already are growing their own fruits, herbs and vegetables. Growing your own food allows you to enjoy delicious, inexpensive, convenient produce that is good for you and the environment. Husky Rescued from Storm Drain in California! Fruits and vegetables in the grocery store are picked before ripening, so they can make the long journey via truck. For more Animal, Earth, Life, Vegan Food, Health, and Recipe content published daily, subscribe to the One Green Planet Newsletter! Grow Your Own Food: The Top Health Benefits of Growing a Vegetable Garden Cultivating and nourishing your vegetable garden can undoubtedly do a lot than providing fresh vegetables. Learn how growing your own food can improve your physical and mental health, as well as the health of the environment. Why is this bad? This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions. If you learn how to preserve your harvest, you will be able to stock your Pantry and feed your family even when the growing season is over. 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