How the World Works - Salon.com

Thought provoking article on food and its impact on the environment.

How the World Works - Salon.com:

"Some conclusions seem obvious, upon reflection. Locally grown isn't always the best answer. Tomatoes grown organically in a greenhouse next door to you may consume more fossil fuel energy than tomatoes shipped from hundreds of miles of away, if you take into account the energy used to produce the aluminum and glass that the greenhouse is built from. Organically grown tomatoes cut down on pesticide use, but may also require more land and water than 'conventional' tomatoes, depending on where they are grown.

Some observations are somewhat more subtle. Worried about the global warming impact of the fossil fuel consumed by the trucks that bring your tomatoes from hundreds of miles away to your local supermarket? In a life-cycle analysis, the couple of miles that you drive in your car to get to the supermarket and back does proportionally signficantly greater damage. This raises the possibility that it might be better for the world if you biked to the supermarket to pick up tomatoes grown far away, than drive to the nearest farmer's market to get tomatoes grown on the other side of the hill."

So shop locally! ;)