The National Resources Defense Council

Location: United States
Years: 1970-present
President: Frances Beinecke

http://www.nrdc.org/
http://www.nrdc.org/health/foodmiles/

The National Resources Defense Council is an environmental action organization that uses law and science to protect the planet and ensure a safe and healthy environment for all living things. There are 1.3 million members helping to curb global warming, eliminate toxic chemicals in the environment, and move America beyond oil. One of their campaigns is the eat local campaign which allows the user to input their location and find fresh produce nearby. The NRDC further provides consumers with state-by-state information for what produce is fresh and locally grown. This includes local lists for every growing season from Early January to Late December; 24 lists in total. Produce available in bordering states is also provided as well as recipes to use with the local food.



They advocate local eating habits, explaining that most produce grown in the United States travels an average of 1,500 miles before it gets sold. For example, every year, nearly 270 million pounds of grapes arrive inCalifornia, most of them shipped from Chile to the Port of Los Angeles. Their 5,900 mile journey in cargo ships and trucks releases 7,000 tons of global warming pollution each year, and enough air pollution to cause dozens of asthma attacks and hundreds of missed school days in California. The NRDC believe that by eating locally, consumers can have a huge impact on the health of our planet and they are working to make this campaign easier for people all over the country.