Friday, September 28, 2007
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MY Environment
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About Me
- Ann Harris
- My background is in public library service, so I am a champion of making information available to people. I am also interested in the environment and the consequences of human behavior on our planet. My participation is currently on a personal, rather than a policy level. As we discuss climate change, energy, food, and other topics, I hope that we can cultivate awareness and move the conversation along toward action which may indeed then influence policy.
4 comments:
Skeptics may argue that by purchasing local foods, we are taking away from farmers who are growing food in other countries. Here is one excerpt from the latest issue of "World Ark," the newsletter for the Heifer Project. More can be found at www.heifer.org.
"First of all, only 5 per cent of food is traded in the global marketplace...it's the tiny fraction of traded food that dictates prices. When the world market price for commodities dive bombs, farmers everywhere are hurt."
There is also the practice of "dumping" to consider. "Countries like the United States can now export heavily subsidized crops and flood local markets with artificially cheap products, often decimating small farmers' livelihoods."
From an environmental perspective, buying as locally as possible makes more sense in some ways. The cost of shipping food from across the globe or even across the country in terms of pollutants generated by transport is a huge issue. On the other hand, regardless of whether the food is produced locally or not, HOW the food is produced can have a tremendous impact on the environment. If we are growing corn, strawberries, potatoes and cabbage locally as many farmers do around here, and we are using extensive pesticides or other polluting processes, are we really helping the environment or our health by buying local? How do we even know if these crops are remaining here for sale. We have many dairy farms here. Cattle emissions are a larger source of pollution than many other industries that are noted for impacting global warming. Other issues related to local versus global food supply involve health, labor, economics, politics and human rights. So the question for me becomes "how do I balance these issues and make personal decisions?". Do I drive 40 miles to pick up fresh free range chickens that I know are better for me healthwise and have been raised in a cruelty free environment or save the gas and go to my local supermarket (which no longer sells organic chicken) and risk the unknown in what I buy. Should I only eat products in season and available locally? It is a true dilemma. What about coffee which is not even grown here in the United States for the most part? McKibben acknowledged this problem himself when I asked the question at his talk at Colgate. He admitted he didn't have any formulas for solving the problem and often made compromises but said it is important that we all do the best we can and that being mindful of these things is a huge first step. I choose to drive to buy the chicken.
The balancing act is difficult, but the awareness issue is even bigger. If people are really making an informed decision, that is a good thing. Before I became aware of these issues, I went to the grocery and did my "robot shopping." Now that I am more aware of the impact of my decisions, the priority is this: if I can buy local, I do; if I can't buy local and it's something I really want, I try to decide on the thing that will make the least impact. Examples of this are: Fair Trade coffee and organic bananas.
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