Is it a good idea to insist on shopping local products in order to curb climate change and famines*?

Question

The people in Sweden seem to think so and every food stuff there is tagged with a symbol that the tells you whether it has been brought into the country by aeroplane. To minimize the consumption of everything is the general idea that's seen here at work, e.g. minimizing the avgas (gas/fuel/petrol) used by plane which is a lot more than if the same distance was covered by a truck delivering the goods (the harmful effect in terms of climate change that a plane causes is in almost all the cases a lot more harmful than a truck's/ship's/train's. (unless the distance is as long as a straight line is from Australia to the US through Europe/Africa). So the idea is really to produce the product (food stuff or any other type of products) in a place that is as close to the buyer as possible. The Swedish idea is supported by science (Meadows, Limits to Growth, 30-year update.) However, an economist student told me that she thinks that it's really stupid to break down the production chains world wide. She thinks that it has taken decades to build a production chain that delivers the best products, and it has come to be organized in an efficient way along the years. At the current moment, food stuff is produced in places where they get a good quality out of a small amount money. People just don't know how to make a really good product of some type in every small country, so it's unreasonable to insist on eating local food. But she doesn't to explain more, as she's not interested in the climate change point of view. I'd still like to learn more about her view, and get some book references, if possible. You see I didn't really get what she was saying.

No climate change is a scam or conspiracy comments plz, 'cause they will just be laughed at in Sweden, and by the vast majority of the world population

Btw, I truly don't want to make people get too alarmed about famines and other disasters, things come in degrees and it's best we don't get too scared or try to overdo minimizing our individual impact on climate change. It's not supposed to consume all your thoughts and energy as every psychologist would agree. It's not healthy. Just do what feels comfortable, every little thing counts (e.g. recycling biodegradable waste, metal or glass etc.), as after all, famines and natural catastrophes come in degrees

*Famines are mentioned in the heading as they are explained to be one of the consequences of climate change in Meadows, Limits to Growth, 30-year update

Answer 1

It's a great idea to buy local products because it results in a lower carbon footprint, it helps the local economy, and in the case of food, you get fresher and better tasting stuff (and often cheaper). These are the reasons I shop at my local farmers market every weekend.

Answer 2

Efficiency is better served by having products produced where they can be manufactured the cheapest and that does typically mean that you're better off having food produced on the other side of the world.



Of course transportation costs have to be factored into it as well but we can have cheap transportation (and cheap transportation does help a lot in terms of lowering cost, you do not want transport to be expensive).



From an environmental effects of transport point of view there is significant and easy to get room for improvement in shipping (switching the ships to nuclear power) and railroads (electrify the lines (requires clean electricity, Sweden is doing well there though)) which can carry anything that isn't too time sensitive, air freight is a bit of a niche market compared to ships, trains and trucks although it's going to be quite hard to reduce the CO2 emissions from aircraft since there's really no alternative to kerosene (not avgas, pretty much everything that carries cargo burns Jet A, avgas is only really used for GA these days) and current planes are already pretty efficient with no really big improvements possible, trucks whilst they do long distance cargo are probably better used on shorter distances to bring something that came by ship, train or plane to the final destination.



The lower productivity you might get in a lot of places would probably cause more negative environmental effects than growing food in a place that is suited to that food and then transporting it with what we have now (not what we could have).



As for the famines, they won't actually happen (the limits to growth that people have claimed to find for the near future turn out to not be limits, but merely a lack of imagination, we have the technology to transcend the limits that are claimed to do us in soon, we just need to be allowed to use it (when we really need it, that'll happen, Sweden recently took steps to allow one of them)).

Answer 3

I guess it depends on your reason for buying things. Economically it might be cheaper to produce things in eg China, but environmentally it's not necessarily better.

- To reduce wasting energy in transport buy local food. If you can't resist bananas, buy organic African ones and not those from Ecuador, they have less way to travel. If the more energy efficient fridge comes from, say Germany instead Sweden, and you are in Sweden, it might be more environmentally friendly to buy the German fridge. It depends on what you buy.

- Buy second hand, that reduces the amount of resources and energy needed.

- Buy only what you need, do you really need a third tv or a new mobile because the last year model is "old"? Everything you buy has to be "build" and transported. If you don't buy it, it doesn't. And the old stuff needs to go somewhere too, sell it, other people might be able to use it, donate it, put it into recycle. It's no good in the landfill!

- Buy fair-trade and organic as much as you can, that's more ethical and environmentally friendly.

- Be more aware of your impact. Where do things come from, what are they made of, can it be recycled, do I need it in the first place, do the people producing it get fair pay?



Of course everything you buy or do has an impact, but there are ways to reduce that impact,that's the goal :-) And the money you save by not buying the new tv you can spend on art, sport, concerts, a beer with friends, pizza with friends, a new tree in the garden, piano lessons......



About the famine: as far as I remember, Meadows was saying that famine will struck the developing countries first because of the social and environmentally impact of lots of people with no money concentrated in one area. They will run out of clean drinking water eventually, and the amount of good soil is getting less in those areas as well. It does not necessarily mean that there will be famine in Sweden or Europe, but we will definitely feel some consequences.

To the lack of imagination: yes we create new technologies, but if you can't afford the fancy new technology it's worth nothing for you! There will be social and environmental problems because of our consumption especially in developing countries but also world-wide and we should try to keep them as small as possible.

Answer 4

a huge question arises as to in uncomplicated words how a lot guy is contributing to climate change, thinking we are following widespread climate cycles recorded in the course of the last million years (Vostok ice center study). in spite of everything the superb plan of action must be to flow to a much off spot contained in the desolate tract (or woods) dig an earth sheltered residing house, do not use fossil gas for warmth or transportation, and strengthen all of your human being nutrition, there you've it. yet now that you’ve performed all you may possibly do what takes position if, after one hundred years…2 hundred years… the cycle maintains and warming will strengthen futher? Oops.

Answer 5

Anytime you can buy local products you win, for the most part. Food will be fresher and you support the local industry and economy. Less transportation means less fuel and less pollution.

Answer 6

It is always a good idea to support your local growers. The more local the better, I do not mean nationwide.



It is also good for the local economy.



Good Luck.