Re: The trouble with eating local


"Ian Smith" <ianinhoose@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:48b842fb$0$20692$9a6e19ea@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
On Fri, 29 Aug 2008 08:45:32 +0100, Dr Quite scrievit this wi a finger in
the stour:

"Local food is often better-tasting and more nutritious. That's a pretty
good reason to pay more for it. Maybe you want to support small local
farms. Go ahead, if that's your bag. But don't think going local does
much to reduce your carbon footprint. And it shouldn't do much to ease
your conscience.

How far your food travels matters a lot less than what kind of food it
is, or how it was produced. According to a recent study out of Carnegie
Mellon University
(http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/esthag-w/2008/apr/science/
ee_foodmiles.html),
the distance traveled by the average American's dinner rose about 25
percent from 1997 to 2004, due to increasing global trade. But carbon
emissions from food transport saw only a 5 percent bump, thanks to the
efficiencies of vast cargo container ships.

A tomato raised in a heated greenhouse next door can be more
carbon-intensive than one shipped halfway across the globe. And cows
spew a lot more greenhouse gas than hens, or kumquats, so eating just a
bit less beef can do more carbon-wise than going completely local. It's
complicated.

But one thing is clear enough: the farmers in Mexico, China, and Brazil,
who produce a lot of the imported food Americans eat, are poorer than
the farmers here in Iowa. A lot poorer. The corollary of "eat local" is
"don't eat Mexican," so to speak. But the way poor people get less poor
is to do business with people who have a lot of money, like us. If the
local stuff is mouthwatering, you might as well pony up. But if your
salad is made with Mexican lettuce, savor your righteousness."

http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/08/27/eat_local/

Assuming, of course, that CO2 emissions are even remotely something to
worry about.

You make a fair point.


.

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