Thinking Globally by Eating Locally

When consumers enter almost any major supermarket today they can find an array of produce that is truly dazzling. There are bright red straw berries from Costa Rica, grapes from Chile, bananas from Ecuador, and five different varieties of lettuce from California. No matter what season it is. Organic fruits and vegetables-those grown without chemical fertilizers or pesticides-are often the choice of the environmentally conscience shopper. This promotes cleaner air and water, of course. But is seeking out organic products always the most environmentally friendly choice? Unfortunately, if a consumer focuses on the organic label alone, they are not necessarily thinking green.

“The average food item on a U.S. grocery shelf has traveled farther than most families go on their annual vacations,” writes Barbara Kingsolver in her book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. Many consumers may never have considered where their food comes from. Even when they are aware that produce travels a long distance to their local store, they may wonder why they should care. Most people probably like having fresh fruits and vegetables available in every season. Consider that early Spring favorite, asparagus. When shoppers go to the market in December, did they ever stop to wonder why asparagus is available? The asparagus must travel a great distance by plane to reach the United States in December, because “Don’t expect baby asparagus tips any time other than March, April or May, unless you live in New Zealand or South America” (Kingsolver 28-29).

In fact, the environmental impact of long-distance shipping is one of the major reasons that environmentalists urge buyers to eat food grown near their homes. Plane travel is the most environmentally destructive of all forms of transportation. As Peter Singer and Jim Mason explain, “Transporting a given amount of food by plane uses the most energy per mile, almost twice as much as road freight and 20 times more energy than sending it by ship or rail.” (145) Because energy is expensive can increase the cost of food, but an additional concern is that carbon-dioxide emissions from airplanes contribute to global warming. Global warming is a controversial subject, many experts agree that it contributes to the extinction of species, worldwide changes in rainfall patterns, the melting of polar ice caps, and rising sea levels (Singer and Mason 144).

Air-travel alone, however, isn’t entirely to blame for the damage that our methods of food production can do to the environment. Petroleum products are involved the agricultural process before the food even leaves the farm. Most fertilizers, pesticides, sprayers, and tractor fuel are made from petroleum and most farms use some or all of these to grow produce. But the journey from farm to table consumes four-fifths of the total oil used in the production of conventionally grown fruits and vegetables (Kingsolver 5).

Purchasing locally grown food may not always be the most environmentally conscientious choice the situation is often complicated. Consumers cannot help the planet by driving gas-guzzling vehicles from town to town to find local free-range eggs and produce. There are still many compelling reasons to choose food grown close to home. Local food tastes better, and its also healthier. In his blog “On the Table,” Michael Pollan writes that locally grown food “is fresher, and in produce, fresher means tastier and more nutritious. The longer produce spends in a truck, the more tired it gets; many of its nutrients . . . deteriorate over time.” At the very least, people can take an important step in preserving the earth for future generations by becoming conscious of their own food choices such as considering where the food comes from and how it was raised.

In many cases, consumers who want to help the environment and get healthy, delicious food may be wise to choose locally grown produce, even if the produce is not organic. Organic fruits and vegetables are preferable if they are available locally. However, if the choice is between organic strawberries from across the country and local berries, that are conventionally grown, shoppers should know that the local fruits may ultimately be less costly to the environment.

Works Cited

Kingsolver, Barbara. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life. Harper Perennial, 2007.

Pollan, Michael. “Eat Your View.” On the Table, New York Times, 20 May 2006, nyti.ms/1z7PGrb.

Singer, Peter, and Jim Mason. The Ethics of What We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter. Rodale Books, 2006.