Eat Local, Think Local

When Globalization Makes No Sense

By Paul Romani
 
When we use the Internet, globalization makes all the sense in the world. Yet when we talk about food, globalization becomes total insanity.
Imagine that Canada exports wheat to the USA, and then imports American wheat.
That may make economic sense, but beyond that it leaves us scratching our heads – and hopefully feeling more than a little irritated.
In fact, there are a great many types of food that Canada and American trade purely for economic reasons. What’s next, milk?
Beyond that, why do we need to eat strawberries in January? And that’s just one example of all the food that we expect to eat 365 days of the year. What happened to seasonal food?!
It makes no sense, and it causes a lot of harm to the environment.
Despite the world’s obsession with globalization, with food it’s extremely important to think locally. That’s why Pear Tree Education supports the Farmers Market in Kitsilano: http://www.eatlocal.org/index.html.
Eating locally produced food is essential not only to boost the local economy, but also to help reduce the amount of pollution created by the food transportation.
It’s a small step in the right direction.
 
If you buy locally produced food, please share your thoughts with us.