Locavores question 1

ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION SECTION II Question 1

Locavores

Locavores, people who have decided to eat locally grown or produced products, are increasing throughout the world. Many people choose to eat fresh food rather than food shipped from other countries. although only buying locally grown food can seem healthier, there are many issues  associated with the locavore movement. The locavores movement doesn’t have much benefits as it seems. Being restricted to only purchasing from one place can have damage for others. Also, this food system doesn’t always fit with every society and it can be often confusing.

With any advertisements saying, ‘Save the Planet,’ the locavore movement has gained popularity over the decades. However, buying a produce locally isn’t always better than a produce grown somewhere else, “... it made more environmental sense for a Londoner to buy lamb shipped from New zealand than to buy a lamb raised in the U.K (source C). Locavore would say this is wrong, but New Zealand lambs are raised on pastures with small carbon footprint, whereas many English lambs are produced under factory-like conditions. People shouldn’t focus on transportation, but focus on the quality of the food.

The locavore movement doesn’t always work out for everyone. While the movement sounds superb in theory, it is quite difficult to practice. Also it is the same amount of money for buying either locally or not, “like many developing nations still are - they’re a poor fit in modern urbanized societies (SOURCE F)” The decentralized food system doesn’t always work for new developing areas. This also goes for densely populated urban nations, where centers of food production is miles away.

The term “locally” may confuse many people. People often have different thoughts on what fresh food is, this is why localvorism is quite hard to practice. There are several definitions as to what local is, some supporters arguing for political boundaries, others using terms like food sheds, and others having a certain radii of miles. It can be a difficult situation for some people in other countries if only one place has industrial quantities of fresh produce, corn, meat, and dairy.  Source G, drawn by Alex Hallatt, shows a comic strip of two people confused about becoming a Locavore. The two characters decide to only eat food sourced from within a 100-mile radius, but one comes back with foreign foods. The character then says, “...The supermarket was only a mile away!” The Comic shows that having a restricted radius on where to get local food isn't always the right way.

Processed and frozen foods are often claimed to be unhealthy and full of chemicals. Locavores are people who have decided to only eat local food. They say that it will help their economy and will create a healthier lifestyle. There would be many issues associated with the locavore movement, such as with fuel, nutrition, and confusion. If one has a eye to nutrition as well as sustainability, becoming a locavore is not a good choice.