The Food and Water Watch has made a great map, showing where the concentration of meat & dairy production takes place in the United States. Check out the map -- and consider, why might this be problematic?
I think this is problematic because there are many places that don't have meat and dairy production. If we're all trying to eat locally, how can it be possible if our local places don't even have the resources? -783713
While I was unable to see the map, having production gaps has long been a problem. Alice Waters is famous for disbuting these gabs. She is firm on the fact that it should not be this way. Everyone needs to eat locally, whether or not local food is available to them. -Kathy Keller
The link to the map does not work, but here is a updated one from Food and Water Watch with a corresponding website: http://www.factoryfarmmap.org/
I believe the concentration is grossly problematic due to the fact that there is so much saturation of a few food products, especially in the Midwest. I found while living in Kansas that I had no problem getting fresh, local meat. But to try and obtain fresh, local produce was a huge complication. Even when I was working in a health food store (where local and organic are common), there was a very limited amount of produce came from Kansas farmers. Our farmer's markets were pitiful, especially for the amount of farms that were so near. I feel that, in a way, it is detrimental to society to keep livestock over-flooding in certain areas, leaving it to larger factories (and even larger corporations) to make the decisions that impact the food that we eat. These animals do not receive the proper care it takes to raise livestock, and have become a commodity, if not a bastardization, of the food that we like to consume.
To me, eating local means having to sacrifice eating the foods that I love, depending on season, availability, etc. I mean, if we strictly ate local, I may not have a clue how amazing kimchi or curry is. I enjoy the fact that I don't have to live somewhere in order to eat their delicacies, but I think there needs to be a balance between producing livestock and produce around the country. There needs to be smaller, community-based farms producing what the people want directly near them. Sadly, it is pretty much the American way to want something standardized and mass-produced, so I may be a small voice in this big country.
Eating local had a certain radius of whats accessible to the purchaser itself. According to the map not many places have access to meat or dairy and this may be a problem because not everyone is vegan or vegetarian. If people enjoy meat, they may not be willing to give up something they enjoy eating to help the enviornment.
In reference to this article, eating local is a big word that doesn't mean much to over half of the US population. If Walmart switched to all local foods in there produce section, I think a lot of peoples views would change. If i just walked up to a random person and asked them if tomatoes were in season in winter 3 of 10 probably would yes they have tomatoes at Walmart everyday. AY823402
I think this is problematic because there are many places that don't have meat and dairy production. If we're all trying to eat locally, how can it be possible if our local places don't even have the resources?
ReplyDelete-783713
While I was unable to see the map, having production gaps has long been a problem. Alice Waters is famous for disbuting these gabs. She is firm on the fact that it should not be this way. Everyone needs to eat locally, whether or not local food is available to them.
ReplyDelete-Kathy Keller
The link to the map does not work, but here is a updated one from Food and Water Watch with a corresponding website:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.factoryfarmmap.org/
I believe the concentration is grossly problematic due to the fact that there is so much saturation of a few food products, especially in the Midwest. I found while living in Kansas that I had no problem getting fresh, local meat. But to try and obtain fresh, local produce was a huge complication. Even when I was working in a health food store (where local and organic are common), there was a very limited amount of produce came from Kansas farmers. Our farmer's markets were pitiful, especially for the amount of farms that were so near. I feel that, in a way, it is detrimental to society to keep livestock over-flooding in certain areas, leaving it to larger factories (and even larger corporations) to make the decisions that impact the food that we eat. These animals do not receive the proper care it takes to raise livestock, and have become a commodity, if not a bastardization, of the food that we like to consume.
To me, eating local means having to sacrifice eating the foods that I love, depending on season, availability, etc. I mean, if we strictly ate local, I may not have a clue how amazing kimchi or curry is. I enjoy the fact that I don't have to live somewhere in order to eat their delicacies, but I think there needs to be a balance between producing livestock and produce around the country. There needs to be smaller, community-based farms producing what the people want directly near them. Sadly, it is pretty much the American way to want something standardized and mass-produced, so I may be a small voice in this big country.
Eating local had a certain radius of whats accessible to the purchaser itself. According to the map not many places have access to meat or dairy and this may be a problem because not everyone is vegan or vegetarian. If people enjoy meat, they may not be willing to give up something they enjoy eating to help the enviornment.
ReplyDeleteIn reference to this article, eating local is a big word that doesn't mean much to over half of the US population. If Walmart switched to all local foods in there produce section, I think a lot of peoples views would change.
ReplyDeleteIf i just walked up to a random person and asked them if tomatoes were in season in winter 3 of 10 probably would yes they have tomatoes at Walmart everyday.
AY823402