Buying local is still better, say letter writers

Doug Powell and K-State' s Food Safety Network pass on this link to The New York Times Op-Ed page, where six letters were printed maintaining that buying local is better, notwithstanding some contrary facts brought to light by columnist James McWilliams, covered here in Fresh Talk earlier.

Here is a representative letter:

While I applaud James E. McWilliams’s tacit recognition that the issue of food sustainability is not as trivial as “eat locally,” I believe that he misses an important and fundamental aspect of the transition to any form of environmental, social or economic sustainability.
His argument assumes that our society will be able to maintain our current quality and quantity of consumption in a sustainable future. While this might be a best-of-all-possible-worlds scenario, it is far more likely — if not certain — that our patterns of consumption will be forced to change.
We might not necessarily eat less (though many argue for this on health grounds), but we should anticipate that our diets will conform more to the available foods than to our epicurean whims. As some new food books suggest, a more geographically and temporally local diet can not only be healthier for the body and the environment, but can also be more interesting and flavorful.


TK: I'm not sure what event, or combination of events, will force our patterns of consumption to change. Looking at the recent trends with imported fruits and vegetables, the American diet should continue to grow more diverse than ever. I don't think a heavy tax on food miles is a supportable policy for the American consumer.