How do we go from Good to “GREAT”, we become Local Food Cities

Posted by Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin on March 16, 2009

Food and energy is something we cannot go without, and the farther these two come from where we use them, the less sustainable they are, this is a matter of logic and economic fact not a matter of opinion, or political leaning, or weather we agree or disagree on global trade.

The fact is that we don’t account for the full cost of our foods and have been living under the illusion that a banana is really only $0.75 cents a pound. It isn’t, what happens is that we are only paying for a small part of the full cost of producing it, bringing it from Brazil or Central America and delivering it to our stores and picking it up. The carbon emitted, the water, soil and air pollution in the production cycle, and many other costs are just being passed on for others to pay, either down the rivers and oceans, or down to the next generation.

I just ran into this Sixty Minutes episode with Alice Waters and thought everyone living in rural areas of the U.S. should watch, and if they work in economic development, help them recognize that their most important assett is not land waiting to be “developed” but land for food production as a strategic economic advantage that must be preserved and enhanced for the long-term survival of our rural communities.

Comments

One Response to “How do we go from Good to “GREAT”, we become Local Food Cities”