[Vision2020] Where in the World???

[Paul Rumelhart]

Kenneth Marcy wrote:
> On Monday 25 May 2009 19:32:59 Chasuk wrote:
>   
>> If I was going to stop buying Western Family pickles because they are
>> outsourced from India, then what else would I have to stop buying,
>> following the same principle?
>>     
>
> I think the implied suggestion is that food items from far away are more 
> expensive monetarily and ecologically because the petro-products used in 
> their growth and transport add excessively to the foodstuff's cost. Buying as 
> much food from as close to home as possible minimizes some of those costs.
>
> Buying more fresh foods in season supports local farmers, makes eaters more 
> aware and appreciative of the source, quality, and quantity of what is eaten. 
> It may mean that you'll consume less fresh fruit out of (North American) 
> season, so, for example, fresh fruit salad in January would be less likely.
>
> Suggested reading: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, by Barbara 
> Kingsolver, and The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, by 
> Michael Pollen.
>
>
> Ken
>   

I would argue that pickles from India don't cost more than locally-grown 
pickles, otherwise they would be buying locally-grown pickles and saving 
on shipping costs.  There may be a few reasons for this, such as the 
efficiencies of scale you get when you ship 20 million pickles at a time 
(just pulled that number out of thin air) or India simply had a banner 
year for growing pickles and are selling them cheap.

I'm behind the idea of eating locally-grown food, but I don't see it 
becoming a reality on a massive scale anytime soon.  If we did go that 
route on a large scale, won't we start running into the problems that 
cheap transportation and globalization was designed to fix?  Such as a 
bad growing season in the Northwest causing a shortage of food here?  Or 
giving up mangoes because they don't grow within 100 miles?  I'd rather 
not have to freeze-dry or can food just in case we get a 
colder-than-normal year.

I'm all for supporting local farmers, but they can't handle all of our 
needs.  I'd rather put more time and energy into greener transportation 
and reap the benefits of  both worlds.

Paul