The Rooster’s Tale Newsletters
Rooster's tale-Volume 1, issue 1
Rooster's tale-Volume 1, issue 2
Rooster's tale-Volume 1, issue 3
Rooster's tale-Volume 1, issue 4
Rooster's tale-Volume 2, issue 1
Rooster's tale-Volume 2, issue 2
Local Food-A Students Point of View
Paige Erickson-McGee is a first year student at Camosun College in the Environmental Technology program. She is extremely interested in the local food movement and this essay, written for her English class, received an A-. Your comments or job offers ( : - ) can be directed to [email protected].
Eating to Save the World
By Paige Erickson-McGee
In developed countries, the typical consumer luxuriates in goods that arrive from all corners of the world. In particular, food, an ubiquitous commodity that is consumed daily, may originate from the orchards of New Zealand, the plains of Argentina, and the fields of China, to land on the dinner tables of North America. For the most part, the hungry recipient is oblivious to the multinational, cross border dish that lies before them. However, there has been an increase in the number of people re-evaluating their eating habits, for a diversity of reasons. Health, finance, environment and ethics are all relevant when considering diet. Most importantly, though, people are beginning to reassess their diets in terms of sustainability. People’s changing attitudes toward food consumption have taken many forms in contemporary Canada and have a profound effect on the supply and demand relationship of the agriculture industry. This is a result of the food trade evolving into a dominant, massive industry shaping the economy, environment, and culture of Canada. One of the latest forms of change is “localism” gaining ground as the current most environmentally equitable and sustainable method of food consumption.
The food trade as a global phenomenon took shape simply enough along the spice routes between Europe, Africa, and Asia. Its growth paralleled Europe’s population as well as the development in transportation technology along the camel caravan routes of the Silk Road (Encyclopaedia Brittanica). The spice trade was a driving force that pushed the age of exploration as new frontiers were discovered. However, it was at the commencement of the industrial revolution when further advancements in technology, including the steam engine, generated a vast increase in the movement of goods to regions untouched by trade in the past. This reliance on foreign food sources allowed many countries to shift their economic focus from agricultural industry to manufacturing. This, along with population growth, caused the further expansion of transportation in the global market. The refrigerated and airfreight travel integrated into the food trade business provided a stable and secure transportation network that created revolutionary global infrastructure. This enabled the transport of perishable goods across borders overnight; a new method that minimized the financial risk of losing product due to spoiling (Beilock, Phillips and Prentice). At present, Canada is one of the most involved countries in the 898 million tones of food that is shipped around the planet each year (Halweil). Indeed, it is no longer a feat to have a single meal travel upwards of 3,000 miles to reach the average North American plate (Smith and MacKinnon 3). The global food trade has become one of the largest issues addressing the planet’s population as a whole. Globalization established several evident issues, three of which concentrate on the most significant global impacts at hand: economic downfall, environmental damage, and adverse health effects. In many cases, one consequence is the foundation of another, however, all have significant influence on the sustainability and security of food1 on an international scale.
In the current global market, food has become a commodity traded like any other product and importing from wherever it can be produced most cheaply (Pollan, An Omnivore's Dilemma 255). As David Gregg describes in The World Food Problem, many developing nations have acquired a dependence on one or two crops for the majority of their exports, most frequently shipped to developed countries. This, coinciding with a rapid population increase and the inability to maintain enough food supplies per capita, has resulted in an increase in food imports (263). This would appear as an issue of food disparity with the media, however, it is much more a case of food displacement. For example, in 2007 the global price for corn rose by 40% due to an increase in demand from the US for corn in the production of ethanol fuel, leaving Mexico struggling to afford the stable food in their diet (Knowledge W.P. Carey). In numerous developing nations, “farmers producing for export often find themselves hungry as they sacrifice the output of their land to feed foreign mouths” (Halweil 13). The abundance of arable land and mass food imports in countries like Canada portray the illusion that the nation is entirely self-reliant in food production and there is no need for concern. In actuality, it could not be more on the contrary. Brian Halweil makes a valid statement that “while the idea of complete food self-sufficiency may be impractical for rich and poor nations alike, greater self sufficiency can buffer these nations against the whims of the international markets” (54).
The long distance journey food must travel to reach these hungry recipients of North America demands more packaging, refrigeration and fuel, and generates larger amounts of pollution and waste than the transport of local food (Halweil 13). It is interesting to discover that the “climatic-changing implications of a long-distance system are particularly ironic, since farming may be the human endeavor most dependent on a stable climate” (Halweil 37). However, the fuel required to transport food around the world is not the only area of dependence the current agriculture industry has on oil. A typical farm based in monoculture, or the planting the same crop year after year, is designed for high yield and requires much greater use of fuel than multiculture, a more common method in small scale local farming. “In the process [of increasing reliance on monoculture…], highly mechanized Canadian and American farms have come to depend more and more on fossil fuels, chemical fertilizers and pesticides,” (Taylor) all of which have devastating effects on the environment2. In genuinely local agriculture, it is much less likely to see monoculture crops because local farmers often need to grown an assortment of goods as opposed to specializing in one or two species of plants or animals. This is a result of the local market’s demand for a varied selection of meat and produce (Pollan, An Omnivore's Dilemma). Therefore, local food systems can aid in countering the ecologically damaging global trend toward mass food production (Halweil 84).
When it comes down to the nutrition in food, it is important to bear in mind the quality and healthfulness of the food itself prior to its arrival on the dinner table. Michael Pollan presents the concept in his book In Defense of Food that what you eat eats too, and there are advantages and disadvantages of being on the top of the food chain (167). Food that is consumed in the average omnivorous diet “accumulates and concentrates many of the nutrients in the environment but also the toxins,” which are then absorbed within the body of the consumer (Pollan, An Omnivore's Dilemma 167). To be conscious of the food’s “traceability,” or to be aware of the entire journey all food must take to reach one’s plate, is making a conscious effort towards shortening the chain between the farmer and the eater (Halweil 160). It can be difficult, however, for the consumer who is purchasing asparagus from Peru or chicken from Brazil to look the farmer in the eye and discuss with him how his crops are grown or how his livestock is raised. A select few environmental advocate organizations suggest reducing meat consumption because meat production requires a large amount of water and fossil fuels, while runoff from livestock operations can at times pollute water sources (David Suzuki Foundation). This is a valid perspective and “eating meat in the tremendous quantities we do […] is probably not a good idea, especially when the meat comes from a highly industrialized food chain” (Pollan, In Defense of Food 167). However, if the consumers inform themselves of the source of their meat products and ensure the local farmer’s animals are genuinely healthy, then the conscious consumption of meat and meat products is possible.
Recently, there as been greater interest toward the concept of the local food movement. Localism advocates involved in the movement draw attention to the benefits of strengthening locally owned businesses, farms, nonprofit organizations, and local government agencies. Localism has great potential to generate environmental benefits due to decreased transportation of products. The local movement also increases awareness of the environmental impacts of production when the farm or production site is located within the community (Hess 625). One example of this newfound interest is the 100-mile diet introduced by a Vancouver-based couple Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon. The authors contend that reducing the miles in which your food must travel to your plate will be improve the health and wellness of yourself and that of the environment (Smith and MacKinnon 229). Eating locally means relying on food that is grown and raised within the surrounding region; maintaining the original nutrient content by reducing the need for preservatives and additives, and lessening the possibility of contamination (Halweil 14). This creates the network of food security, further ensuring the sustainability of the local consumer lifestyle.
The past few years have shown an increase in consumer awareness, either willingly or unwittingly, of the reliance their food products have on fossil fuels. Greater concern for eating healthily began driving the change of food choices. The initial decision to alter eating habits was introspective and somewhat selfish in its reasoning, based solely on the improvement of personal health. Now, with a new focus on the global climate change, the decision to shift food choices is balanced with the concern over any effect that may be posed on the environment. The political and economic drive toward globalization, especially in the commodization of food, is bearing the fruit of climate change and consumers are now realizing the economical and environmental consquences of the effects of this practise, both at home and abroad. As a result, it is understood that sustainability in the supply of food and protection of the environment can be achieved by attaining our food locally.Top
1The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) defines food security as a "situation that exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life" (qtd. in Josef Schmidhuber and Francesco N. Tubiello 19703).
2 Not only does the mass production of food result in pollution, Thomas F. Palwick also presents the other devastating environmental impacts; soil degradation, wildlife habitat destruction, waste of fresh water resources and loss of biodiversity in his research in The End of Food.
Works Cited
Beilock, Richard M., Alfred J. Phillips and Barry E. Prentice. Economics of Airships for Perishable Food Trade. 2005. 4 December 2008 http://www.isopolar.ca/documents/isopolar_eapft.pdf.
David Suzuki Foundation. Eat less meat? What for? February 2003. 30 November 2008 http://www.davidsuzuki.org/NatureChaThe World Food Problem. New York: Basil Blackwell, 1985.
Halweil, Brian. Eat Here. Washington: Worldwatch Institute, 2004.
Hess, David J. "Localism and the Environment." Sociology Compass 2.2 (2008): 625.
Knowledge W.P. Carey. U.S. appetite for ethanol fuels rise in Mexican corn prices. 9 May 2007. 1 December 2008 http://knowledge.wpcarey.asu.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1416.
Pollan, Michael. An Omnivore's Dilemma. New York: Penguin Books Inc, 2006.
—. In Defense of Food. New York: Penguin Books Inc, 2008.
Schmidhuber, Josef and Francesco N. Tubiello. "Global food security under climate change." roceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2007): 19703.
Singer, Peter and Jim Mason. The Way We Eat. New York: Rodale, 2006.
"spice trade." Encyclopedia Brittanica. 2008. Encyclopedia Premium Service. 02 December 2009 http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/559803/spice-trade.
Smith, Alisa and J.B. MacKinnon. The 100-Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating. Toronto: Random House, 2007.
Taylor, Duncan M. How Canada Has Misused Its Environmental Endowment. November 1994. 21 November 2008 http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-82264-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html.
Top