The word “seasonal” can mean different things: sometimes it refers to food grown and eaten locally during its natural harvest period, and other times it refers to food grown in season somewhere else in the world and then imported. For those in proximity to rural areas, the concern for “local” is a motivating factor for eating seasonally, while for older generations and some part of the working class, seasonality is a way of managing the budget as well as a part of one’s lifestyle [1].
Seasonal fruits and vegetables are often considered more environmentally friendly, but as with everything in life, the reality is more nuanced than simply “local is always better.” Globalization allows people to eat a wide variety of produce year-round, while also raising questions about sustainability.
Researchers use life cycle assessments to measure environmental impacts across the entire food chain, including growing, harvesting, storage, transportation, and consumption. Fruits and vegetables generally have a much lower environmental footprint than animal products such as beef and dairy. However, transportation is not always the biggest source of emissions. In many cases, the way food is produced matters more than how far it travels. For instance, tomatoes grown locally in heated greenhouses during winter can produce more emissions than tomatoes grown naturally in Spain and transported to the UK. Similarly, apples stored for many months in refrigerated warehouses may have a larger carbon footprint than apples shipped from New Zealand during Europe’s off-season. Produce grown outdoors during its natural season, with minimal artificial heating, lighting, or long-term storage, usually has the lowest greenhouse gas emissions. [2]
Fruits and vegetables are generally most nutritious immediately after harvest, although nutrient losses during transport and storage are relatively small compared to the health benefits of eating fruits and vegetables regularly.
All in all, eating seasonal and local produce can help reduce environmental impact, but it is only one part of sustainable eating. It is regularly argued that eating more plant-based foods overall, reducing consumption of animal products, and minimizing food waste are equally important and that avoiding highly perishable produce that is transported by air, reducing reliance on out-of-season greenhouse-grown vegetables, and becoming more familiar with what naturally grows in your region during different times of the year is pro-sustainable.
Here you can find a tool that tells you when fruit and vegetables are in season across Europe, which the European Food Information Council (EUFIC)l for you to explore. Explore Seasonal Fruit and Vegetables in Europe | Eufic
P.S. Decisions regarding local and seasonal consumption of fruits and vegetables by citizens in rich regions of the global economy, such as Spain, can lead to a conflict of objectives between the environment and social development in poor regions. The inter-country trade of fruits and vegetables generates relevant negative environmental hotspots, as the imports from developing countries are often more carbon- and water-intensive. However, the substitution of imports by local production implies vast job losses in these developing countries. [3]
📷Marisol Benitez on Unsplash
Sources:
[1] Régnier, F.; Dalstein, A.-L.; Rouballay, C.; Chauvel, L. Eating in Season—A Lever of Sustainability? An Interview Study on the Social Perception of Seasonal Consumption. Sustainability 2022
[2] Zhu Zhu, Shelie A Miller, Greenhouse gas emissions of tomato production and supply: A systematic review, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, Volume 218, 2025
[3]Luis-Antonio López, Maria-Angeles Tobarra, Maria-Ángeles Cadarso, Nuria Gómez, Ignacio Cazcarro, Eating local and in-season fruits and vegetables: Carbon-water-employment trade-offs and synergies, Ecological Economics, Volume 192, 2022.