I’ve been confronted several times this spring with the benefits of buying locally produced foods. Not something I’d ever given much thought to, really. But the more I’ve read and heard, the more committed I’m becoming to the concept.

First, I heard from my sister about some friends of hers who practice the 100 Mile Diet. They eat what’s in season, and they know where it’s coming from and who’s handling it along the way. I like the “back to basics” vibe of this idea — it seems like a step back towards the slower, simpler life I wish we led, like the stories my mother tells of the childhood summers spent on her grandparents’ farms in 1940s rural Pennsylvania.

Watch an episode of “Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares” on BBCA sometime. About 95% of the time, one of his first solutions for a struggling restaurant is to take the chef or owner to a local seafood, meat, or vegetable market and show them how to buy and prepare seasonal foods. Why? Because #1, it tastes better, and #2, it’s so much cheaper.

Next, I read an article by Jeanne Brooks in the Greenville News about the devastating effect of cheap, imported shrimp and high fuel costs on the South Carolina shrimping industry. (Read her related blog post here.) I’m not much of a shrimp eater — my brother-in-law once compared eating a shrimp to chewing on someone’s nose, and that pretty much sums up my feelings. I don’t hate them, exactly, but I can live a full and happy life without them.

But I don’t know if there’s a sight that captures the spirit of this state better than Shem Creek, home of the Charleston shrimping fleet. And the idea of that heritage being wiped out by a flood of inferior, pond-raised, chemical-laced, foreign product is unthinkable.

Here’s more on the subject, including information on which markets and restaurants sell and serve only fresh, wild-caught Carolina shrimp. And here’s the recent release from the SC Department of Agriculture, detailing the new “Go Wild” program, which encourages South Carolinians to seek out grocery stores and restaurants that offer local shrimp. I might even learn to become more of a shrimp fan myself, just so I can do my part to help the South Carolina shrimping industry thrive.

Finally, at the Upstate Republican Women’s lunch meeting yesterday, I heard SC Commissioner of Agriculture Hugh Weathers speak on everything from the economic impact of SC agriculture to biofuels to food safety to the importance of the Certified SC program, which lets you know that the food you’re buying in the grocery store really was grown right here. There’s also a related program called Fresh on the Menu, which lets consumers know which local restaurants are serving all that Certified SC produce.

Recent problems like the current salmonella outbreak and the scorpion in the bin of watermelons at Wal-Mart are believed to have originated outside the U.S. in countries with little or no agricultural regulation. But because it’s so difficult to trace the exact origin of problem produce, it’s nearly impossible to hold foreign farms accountable.

Local farmers, on the other hand, are not only subject to stringent governmental regulation but are also held to a higher standard because of their very proximity to their consumers. Add to that the economic benefit of buying locally, and it just makes sense for South Carolinians to take advantage of all that our state has to offer.

It’s not difficult — bookmark the Department of Agriculture’s site for more information and updates. Find a local farmer’s market, or look for the Certified SC seal at your grocery store. And if it’s not there, let the manager know you’re disappointed. Find out which retailers and restaurants in your area carry local seafood, and give them your business. Use your buying power to support and promote local agriculture.

It’s fresher. It tastes better. It’s safer. It costs less. Hey, it’s worth getting excited about.