6 replies to this topic

[maineman]

http://www.nytimes.c...xprod=permalink

Is local and green better?

[TTHQ Staff]

http://www.nytimes.c...xprod=permalink

Is local and green better?

Is buying local better? Yes. Buy only if YOU are local and the PRODUCT is local. Just because you may shop at a nearby farmers market doesn't always mean you are buying local products.

If you're shopping locally, and by locally I don't mean you shop at your local farmers market who ships in tomatoes from South America- and I don't mean mass producers of vegX -- I mean local farmers who are selling locally -- then you don't have to worry about whether or not a strawberry was shipped 1500 miles.

That's not buying local.

Whomever wrote the article apparently hasn't gotten the lesson that just buying local (what? within 30 miles of home? 45? 10?) and supposedly shopping 'green' (relating to carbon footprinting) aren't necessarily related. He confuses what buying local means.

If you buy local products (meats and vegetables) from local purveyors, you're more likely to pay less, have a better product, and serve your community in a way that paying for imaginary carbon offsets will never come close to. If you walk outside your door and buy a strawberry shipped 2000 miles from Mexico, you're not shopping locally, and you're not supporting local farmers.

And by the way, buy the ugly tomatoes.

While the research is not yet complete, Tom Tomich, director of the University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, said the fact that something is local doesn’t necessarily mean that it is better, environmentally speaking.

The distance that food travels from farm to plate is certainly important, he says, but so is how food is packaged, how it is grown, how it is processed and how it is transported to market.

Consider strawberries. If mass producers of strawberries ship their product to Chicago by truck, the fuel cost of transporting each carton of strawberries is relatively small, since it is tucked into the back along with thousands of others.

But if a farmer sells his strawberries at local farmers’ markets in California, he ferries a much smaller amount by pickup truck to each individual market. Which one is better for the environment?

Mr. Tomich said a strawberry distributor did the math on the back of an envelope and concluded that the Chicago-bound berries used less energy for transport. Maybe. Regardless, the story raises valid questions.

[mss]

Mr. Tomich said a strawberry distributor did the math on the back of an envelope and concluded that the Chicago-bound berries used less energy for transport. Maybe. Regardless, the story raises valid questions.

The valid question is where is the money for the research coming from? The stupidity of todays "politicaly correct" researchers is troublesome because "who is telling the truth"? The money or the money?

[maineman]

Just sharing an interesting article..... I think it always helps to hear other's views... I like to have my thinking challenged.... When I jog or bike to the local farmer's market and get locally grown fresh food which I carry home in my re-usable hemp shopping totes, I guess that's okay, right? But the article makes a valid point of roaring off in your gas guzzler every day to the markets... mm

[mss]

But the article makes a valid point of roaring off in your gas guzzler every day to the markets...

mm

This point is very valid!!

In my younger days we went to the store ONCE a month and bought the staples. Later in life we went ONCE a week, and still do most of the time. Have a large panty and keep as a minimum 2 weeks supply of food.
At least one weeks supply of produce, cool dark place etc. Tomatoes from garden, last batch, wrap in newspaper while green and store in cabinet in garage. Potatoes etc same way. How fresh is fresh, think about it.

[OEXCHAOS]

There is something to be said for real analysis of the real impact of our purchases. That said, the big factory farms are almost assuredly NOT sustainable ag. They're using a lot of petrol-based energy in their produce. Additionally, there's a big difference between buying greens from an organic farm 200 miles away and buying "organic" grapes from Argentina. Personally, I hate the nonsense that passes for food and produce in this country. They feel perfectly OK hiding the fact that they are selling you gmf's, and they have bread the taste and nutrients right out of the food. When you start buying real locally produced food, you can taste the difference almost immediately. Furthermore, most modern farmers today are doing it because they love it and they have a vision for the way farming should be done. They're raising livestock in more sustainable fashion, and many are growing organically as well. What you get at a farmer's market is very often much more responsibly raised and that has dividends for the environment as well as the local rural communities. As an aside, we buy our garlic scapes and garlic and soap from a couple that lives in an urban suburb of Cincinnati. They're 10 minutes from the market and grow their funky heirloom garlics in their back yard. Not a big carbon footprint there! M

[OEXCHAOS]

Here’s why: Instead of going to the grocery store once a week and stocking up, many consumers are driving for groceries several times a week, if not every day, to all sorts of different stores. I’m no exception. My wife and I shop for groceries at Costco, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, ShopRite, Starbucks, the farmers’ market and the local delicatessen.

I glossed over this last time.

Years ago, I was the shop every day sort. It was fun and it was easy. Now, I was just hitting the local grocery on the way home, so it wasn't far out of my way, but it was still inefficient and a pretty bad habit for one to get into, if one moves a bit further from the grocery or it's no longer on the way home.

For the past 15 years, I've planned out my menu for the week, then bought all or almost all my market produce and meats and cheeses on one trip to the farmer's market, then swing by the wine store on the way home to do any pairings with my weekly menu. I've also made up my grocery store list at the same time so if I've got another errand on the way, I can combine them.

Planning out the menu is a great idea. You buy more efficiently and waste less in spoilage. Also, you'll eat better and more healthily if you plan out what you're going to eat for the week.

Mark