Can Eating Local Food Save Your Life?

We all know that local foods, well, they tend to taste better taste better and they're much easier on the planet (no carbon emissions associated with transportation), but recent fears about the safety of imported foods make local foods that much more appetizing. Tony Corbo at Huffington Post, recently wrote about some of the dangers associated with importing foods.

Keep reading to learn the truth about imported foods.

The Truth About Imported Foods

Part of the reason for the new problems with food importation is that it has increased dramatically. Today, it's estimated up to 85 percent of the seafood we consume is imported and up to 60 percent of produce we consume is now imported, according to the article. The staff of inspectors at the FDA is overwhelmed at the expense of food safety. In reality, there are only enough evaluators to check 1.53 percent of food imports. That's scary stuff.

Keep reading to learn more about Particularly Scary Imported Food Categories.

1. Seafood

Huffington Post figured out through the Freedom of Information Act that the FDA tested only 0.59 percent of the 1.3 billion pounds of shrimp that were imported in 2006. Your chances of getting inspected shrimp are pretty minimal. Much of the seafood comes from Asia where the aquaculture practices are generally unregulated and the seafood can be contaminated with pesticides and illegal antibiotics, according to the article. This doesn't even consider the scary pathogens that go largely unchecked. Why risk it? Instead, buy locally caught sustainable seafood. Monterey Bay Aquarium has a great guide that can direct you to sustainable choices all over the country.

2. Produce

According to the FDA, imported produce is three times more likely to be contaminated with salmonella or other pathogens and even still only 0.23 percent of all fresh imported produce is tested for harmful contamination. Produce can be easily sourced locally but sometimes what appears local isn't local at all. Be careful not to get hoodwinked into thinking imported foods are local. If you're at the farmers' market or at a local produce stand and you see stickers on the fruit, this could be a giveaway that the person selling the goods didn't grow them. Ask questions so you don't get fooled into buying locally sold, imported produce.

3. Tropical Foods

Even if you buy mostly local, tropical foods account for a lot of wasteful food importation that is likely not inspected for safety. Foods that we've grown accustomed to like bananas come from about 5,000 or more miles away in some cases, from places that we know nothing about. This is also true of other tropical fruits like mango, guava, and coconut. Everyday items like coffee and chocolate are also grown tropically. So try and limit your consumption of tropical foods.

For more on local eating, don't miss the 100 Mile Challenge.