Step #8 - Buy local, eat fresh

The average American foodstuff travels an estimated 1,500 miles before being consumed, ON AVERAGE…
Years ago, food was produced and consumed locally meaning it needed to travel very short distances from the place where it was grown (or processed) to the final destination. However things have changed, A LOT! According to an article from the NY Times, cod caught off Norway is shipped to China to be turned into filets, and then shipped back to Norway for sale (aprox 4,300 miles each way). Argentine lemons fill supermarket shelves on the Citrus Coast of Spain (aprox. 6,600 miles), as local lemons rot on the ground. Half of Europe’s peas are grown and packaged in Kenya (aprox. 4,000 miles).
Furthermore, when I was a kid if something was imported from another country was because it either didn’t exist locally, or its quality was extremely higher and better than anything produced locally. However back in 1998 Britain imported 61,000 tonnes of poultry meat from the Netherlands, and also exported 33.100 tonnes of poultry meat to the Netherlands. Also, Britain exports approximately 400,000 tonnes of milk each year, but imports a similar amount from abroad (and that was 14 years ago, I am sure there are a lot more similar cases today)

picture from buylocalbuyfreshchathamkent.com

I don’t know about you but for the average person like me this makes no sense. We are basically putting stuff in trucks, airplanes, trains, etc. sending it over somewhere hundreds (or thousands) of miles away and then getting the same stuff from those places. What’s the point? I am sure that defenders would say “to activate and grow the economy” (at the expense of the environment….of course). As always money is the reason: merchandise trade accounts for 20% of the global GDP. Also think about all the food waste you can generate from all that transportation.

What can we do?

• Buy local. Not only for food but for everything possible. The closest the source is to you, the less fuel is needed to transport those goods. Buying local also supports local economy, employment and in the case of food, it will be fresher for sure!
• If you want to go extremely local, plant a garden and grow your own fresh produce!
• Also you can reduce your total impact by avoiding purchasing processed foods and by buying food with minimal packaging.
• Cut back on meat. It’s the least fuel-efficient food we have. Large quantities of energy are required to cultivate, harvest, and ship animal feed, house, transport and slaughter animals, process and package their meat, and refrigerate it until it’s cooked.

What are you doing to save the planet today?

Sources:

http://www.sustainabletable.org/issues/energy/
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/26/business/worldbusiness/26food.html?ex=1367035200&en=4f8e1274f7a993b7&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
http://www.religioustolerance.org/tomek33.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/1211-02.htm