Persuasive Speech on Buying Local

According to Ronnie Cummings of In Motion Magazine, after several dozen consumers in Colorado were poisoned by E-coli feces in their burgers, 25 million pounds of hamburger meat had to be recalled from the Hudson Foods Corporation. Much of the E. coli found in meat appears to be a product of feedlot life of cattle getting a feedlot diet and living in their own manure. The feedlot lifestyle is a common practice of corporate manufactured meat.
With that point in mind, I hope to persuade you all to research and buy local.
Most food found in the grocery store is highly processed. Not just the ramen noodles or fruit loops, but the actual produce. Corporations use hormones, pesticides and antibiotics and genetic modification, which refer to a crop that is created for consumption using molecular biology techniques. According to the Food and Agriculture of the United Nations, GMOs can make us more resistant to antibiotics, is related to our increased allergies and can even cause mutation within our genes. Also, According to Michael Pollan, the author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, when the average American sits down to eat each ingredient has travelled at least 1,500 miles from farm to plate. Global climate change and war over resources are a few of the things resulting from all this shipping. Also, this travel requires the food to be “gassed” which stimulates the ripening process because the produce has been picked so prematurely causing the nutrients and quality to disintegrate.
Now that I’ve discussed just a few of the reasons mass produced food isn’t ideal, here are some of the reasons to buy local and some options to implement.
First of all buying locally helps reduce the impact we have on the environment. According to sustainable connections.com, buying locally helps to reduce the environmental impact. This generally means contributing less to sprawl, congestion, habitat loss and pollution. We also help to keep the local economy healthy and thriving. Matt Embrey