Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Food That Travels Well, a New York Times Op-ed piece from last year is a good starter piece on the subject of whether local food is actually better for the environment. Hint: In some cases it's not!
Food from Halfway Around the World can have a Smaller Footprint
In addition to factoring in the actual transportation of the food from it's source to our plate, we must also consider the "other energy-consuming aspects of production". It isn't hard to imagine it might actually be more environmentally responsible to forgo local grain fed beef in favor of grass-fed beef from across the country (or even the world).
Or to put it more eloquently, as quoted from the article:
These life-cycle measurements are causing environmentalists worldwide to rethink the logic of food miles. New Zealand’s most prominent environmental research organization, Landcare Research-Manaaki Whenua, explains that localism “is not always the most environmentally sound solution if more emissions are generated at other stages of the product life cycle than during transport.”
My take on this? Well, based on our past food history, it can't hurt to question everything we hear about food and make sure we know the reasons why we make particular choices. Granted, this would eat up (no pun intended) a LOT of your free time, but never miss a chance to re-evaluate your habits.
(image courtesy of didbygraham)
On Saturday, our trusty beef provider informed us there would be no more grass-fed beef until next August! Perhaps that was a sign we needed to a little research before resigning ourselves to grain-fed local beef for the next 11 months? Definitely.
From the article:
As concerned consumers and environmentalists, we must be prepared to seriously entertain these questions. We must also be prepared to accept that buying local is not necessarily beneficial for the environment. As much as this claim violates one of our most sacred assumptions, life cycle assessments offer far more valuable measurements to gauge the environmental impact of eating.
Keep buying local (if it makes sense!). Stay informed. Everything is a choice. Know the impact of your choices and the reasons for making them.
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2 comments:
Another thought on buying local. Maybe, it is better to buy in densely populated areas to purchase, vegetables and dairy products locally. But then to purchase grains (which have a long shelf life and can be transported by rail inexpensively) and beef, which does not take as much energy per ounce of protein, to be grown in areas which are more remote, ie. South Dakota.
If your goal is to go easier on the environment, and still save a little bit of money, that sounds like a good plan John. Just make sure you're getting grass-fed beef!
I clicked on the link to your profile John but it was locked. I'd love to check out your site if you have one...
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