Many of the fresh fruits and vegetables Iowans eat travel more than 1,500 miles before reaching the dinner table, according to a recent report from Iowa State’s Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture.

The report compares the carbon dioxide emissions, fuel usage and miles traveled by 28 fresh produce items in local, regional and conventional systems. The conventional system transports produce from farms across the country to Iowa by semitrailers.

Rich Pirog, education coordinator at the Leopold Center and the report’s lead author, said an increasing number of farmers and consumers are interested in local and regional foods for several reasons.

Using produce grown closer to home provides income opportunities for farmers, strengthens farm-community linkages and gives consumers fresher, better-tasting choices, he said.

“We want to also look at some possible environmental benefits of local and regional-based food systems,” he said.

Findings showed that in comparison to local food systems, the conventional system uses 4 to 17 times more fuel and emits 5 to 17 times more carbon dioxide in order to transport produce to Iowa.

The study also indicated that produce is now traveling farther than in the past. In 1998, produce delivered to Chicago traveled 22 percent farther than it did in 1981.

According to the report, Iowa farmers would gain $54.3 million if an additional 10 percent of the sales of the produce items included in the study came from in-state sources.

Gary Huber, co-director of food systems for Practical Farmers of Iowa, said local growers have an advantage because they can avoid high transportation costs.

“As fuel prices in the nation go up, the local produce becomes more competitive,” he said.

Huber said it is not difficult for farmers to sell the locally-grown produce to retail or grocery stores.

The only obstacle is when the supply is not great enough to meet the demands of the stores.

“We are not capable of having a year-round locally-grown produce supply,” he said.

He said local farmers have to cope with seasonal changes in the environment.

“In the winter, greenhouse growers do grow certain crops, such as tomatoes or lettuce,” he said

Because of greenhouses and growers from all over the world, shoppers have access to all types of produce throughout the year.

“Anymore you have the same fruit [available] from different areas of the country all the time,” said Russ Weis, West Hy-Vee’s manager of store operations.

He said Iowa grows more produce than many people may actually realize.

“Iowa’s fruits and vegetables are a hot commodity across the nation,” he said.

Sweet corn and Muscatine melons are two of the desired items, Weis said.

He also said most of the potatoes and apples that Iowans eat are stored in a controlled atmosphere that preserves them at specific temperatures and air levels for several months after harvest.

“Apples that were picked last fall are still being sold today,” he said.

Roy Hwe, a Hy-Vee customer, said he usually buys locally-grown vegetables, such as corn and herbs, but he prefers to purchase fruits like apples and bananas that are grown far away.

“I buy produce depending on its price, taste and quality,” he said.

Huber said he hopes to see the state government and private industries look at the study and consider what steps would be needed to make the state of Iowa more self-reliant in producing locally-grown fruits and vegetables.