On Fri, 28 Oct 1994 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> I agree with Deborah Rudacille that the local agricultural model may not always
> be the best. The postings on this issue are, in their entirety, beginning to
> sound as if eating local food in season is part of the ecofeminist orthodoxy,
> but this position should be examined more closely.
> The real battle is in making sure that in both places appropriate agricultural
> techniques are being used, so that the environment is not damaged. There is
> nothing intrinsically wrong with "agribusiness." Agriculture is a business.
> There will be big and small players in the business, as in all businesses. If
> producers are made to pay for all the costs they inflict on the environment
> (pesticides, use of topsoil, etc.) then they should grow food in the most
> efficient manner, regardless of whether they ship food or not, or whether they
> are large or small enterprises. Since shipping food costs money, if it can
> still be sold at the destination for a cheaper price than local goods, that
> means that economies are being gained at the producing end. Anything that
> makes healthy food cheaper and more abundant, and does not harm the
> environment, should be applauded.
I would absolutely agree with the above. The original comments about
local produce etc were in response to the meat eating v. vegetarian
debate which had gone on for quite a while on this list. They were a
reminder that *in less developed countries* people are being booted
off of the land which directly provides them a living to grow *luxury
crops* for consumption in the North by people -- including vegetarians --
who have come to expect having access to those crops year round. I do
not think that bioregionalism means *only* buying local produce. But, I
do think that it means being conscious of how all of our purchases impact
*people* as well as environments. The land in Mexico that is being taken
over by agribusiness to supply produce for consumers in the US in the
dead of winter is not inherently better for tomatoes, asparagus, etc than
it is for corn, etc that supports the locals. Somehow social justice has
to be worked into the "equation" as well as ecological soundness.
Especially since war and social upheavals brought about by social
injustice are incredibly environmentally destructive.
How are we going to make producers pay the full costs of production?
Jayne
