Some Carbon With Your Kiwi?

[depakid]

Cod caught off Norway is shipped to China to be turned into filets, then shipped back to Norway for sale. Argentine lemons fill supermarket shelves on the Citrus Coast of Spain, as local lemons rot on the ground. Half of Europe’s peas are grown and packaged in Kenya.

In the United States, FreshDirect proclaims kiwi season has expanded to “All year!” now that Italy has become the world’s leading supplier of New Zealand’s national fruit, taking over in the Southern Hemisphere’s winter.

Food has moved around the world since Europeans brought tea from China, but never at the speed or in the amounts it has over the last few years. Consumers in not only the richest nations but, increasingly, the developing world expect food whenever they crave it, with no concession to season or geography.

Increasingly efficient global transport networks make it practical to bring food before it spoils from distant places where labor costs are lower. And the penetration of mega-markets in nations from China to Mexico with supply and distribution chains that gird the globe — like Wal-Mart, Carrefour and Tesco — has accelerated the trend.

But the movable feast comes at a cost: pollution — especially carbon dioxide, the main global warming gas — from transporting the food.

Under longstanding trade agreements, fuel for international freight carried by sea and air is not taxed. Now, many economists, environmental advocates and politicians say it is time to make shippers and shoppers pay for the pollution, through taxes or other measures.

He noted that Britain, for example, imports — and exports — 15,000 tons of waffles a year, and similarly exchanges 20 tons of bottled water with Australia. More important, Mr. Watkiss said, “we are not paying the environmental cost of all that travel.”

Europe is poised to change that.

More: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/26/business/worldbusiness/26food.html?hp

[angstlessk]

1. I recall the first time I saw a Kiwi at the grocer and thought ...what the hell is a Kiwi

and why the hell would I want to eat it? I recall when the grocery store looked more like the farmers market..staples like potatoes and onions were year round, but you could NOT find a tomato in February and Christmas was the only time to buy oranges and grapefruit (little gifts of the magi). I recall seeing a movie set in the 1930's or so and the woman in the store was purchasing cereal and had about 4 choices...not an entire aisle devoted to ONLY cereal...I thought how easy was that choice for her??? Sometimes choice is not so good!