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The NRDC, Natural Resources Defense Council, has an online tool that can help you minimize the amount of well-traveled foods you consume. You can plug in the time of year down to early and late part of each month, plus the state in question. Once the tool churns out foods harvested or cellared in your state this time of year, it will also offer foods from neighboring states.

For example, it turns out that my craving for celery can be satisfied with Pennsylvania grown stalks, so when I made a salad last weekend with celery in it, I hunted down some PA-grown stuff at the farmers' market instead of just settling for something with a passport from Whole Foods.

They also have a list of "Frequent Fliers," the foods that are commonly air-lifted from their country of origin, racking up global warming emissions. Peruvian Asparagus, Tomatoes from the Netherlands and Chilean fruit like blackberries, cherries and peaches are all on the list. If they're not in season, best to choose something else and the online search tool is a great way to find alternatives.

• Visit the NRDC's Eat Local tool

(Plane image by Flickr member Ack Ook licensed for use under Creative Commons.)