We live in a modern age, where everything is easily available to us. We get pomegranates throughout the year, we eat avocado toast every day, we have frozen options for berries, and we eat carrots and beetroots even in summer.
When it comes to our diet there are lots of facts and figures to consider — preservatives, pesticides, additives — and these are all things a modern-day consumer has to think about when choosing the food that will go into their body. It is a wise thing to choose and eat food which is seasonal, and as much as possible, local.
In our ancient Indian practice of Ayurveda, this is called "Ritucharya."
Benefits of eating seasonal
It is better for you
Foods that are grown and consumed during the appropriate season are more nutritionally dense. When food is grown out of season, it isn't able to follow its natural growing and ripening process. For certain fruits and vegetables to be available year-round, post-harvest ripening agents are used — chemicals, gases and heat processes. Some produce is also coated with an edible film or wax to keep it fresh for longer. While this ensures farmers can meet year-round demand, researchers have found that artificially ripened produce is often not as nutritious as seasonal produce.
It is more sustainable
Basing your diet around which vegetables and fruits are in season is a great strategy to support sustainability. Seasonal produce helps cut down on emissions associated with transportation and importing. Local farmers are also more likely to be practising sustainable agriculture methods.
Think about it — how far did the avocado or kale that you bought from your local store travel before it was stocked at your grocery store? Did it come from a local farmer, did it drive across the country, or did it arrive by aeroplane? We give little or no thought to the effect of long-distance transport and the preservatives used to keep produce fresh.
Nutritionally dense, with lots of variety in your diet
Plants provide us with many vital minerals, vitamins, antioxidants and more. Eating a wide variety of plant-based foods helps us get the various nutrients and nutritional abundance they provide. When you eat seasonally, you naturally rotate your food choices through the year, giving you plenty of variety in your diet.
