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  • From: Shawnee Flowerfarmer <farmingflowers AT hotmail.com>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] NYTimes.com: Food That Travels Well
  • Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2007 19:18:40 -0500

Mr. Shoemaker has summed everything up perfectly again. 
 Sympathy to the growers in those "clover choked pastures" in New Zealand....but buying locally also means eating seasonally. 
 As a child, I was mystified every Christmas as to why my parents made such a big deal about the giant oranges that they put into our stockings.  It took me a while to understand that oranges were special in the Midwest December because that's when they were beginning to come into season down South. Quite a treat to the World War II generation who then thought that the next generation would get the concept too. Oops.
 
But look at the progress we're making!   The big swanky media is noticing!  Thirty years ago, we didn't get any attention all except from our loyal customers; our food supply wasn't a subject worthy of discussion or debate in the mainstream media.
 
Shawnee, zone 5, and 11 inches of rain in three days.  sigh....couldn't it rain a half inch every other night.....





While it was thought provoking, it's worth noting that the authors of the research were from New Zealand, a country which depends heavily on long-distance exporting. The author of the op-ed was diplomatic to the study, perhaps to a fault. It certainly didn't take into account any of the other reasons for buying locally- grown product. In my opinion, more compelling reasons are qualitative. Both culinary and nutritional value of well--travelled foods are so compromised that buying local is a real health and quality of life issue. In my 25 years of working with the produce industry, I've never seen a time when the market offers so much which has so little value. Consumers beware!
 
Bill Shoemaker, Sr Research Specialist, Food Crops
University of Illinois - St Charles Horticulture Research Center
www.nres.uiuc.edu/faculty/directory/shoemaker_wh.html
 
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, August 08, 2007 8:59 AM
Subject: [Market-farming] NYTimes.com: Food That Travels Well

The New York Times E-mail This
This page was sent to you by:  nitag AT ev1.net Message from sender:
This is from the NY Times and is thought provoking, to say the least. Nita Garcia

OPINION   | August 6, 2007
Op-Ed Contributor:  Food That Travels Well
By JAMES E. McWILLIAMS
Why imported produce may be better for the earth than local.


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