The requirement to ship food and agriculture products an average of 1500+ miles has substantial affects to the environment. Fossil fuels rising costs and emissions from cargo ships, rail and trucking products internationally and cross country, are the major contributor to some of the environmental issues as they release carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter and other pollutants that contribute to global climate change, acid rain, smog, air and sea pollution.
The refrigeration required to keep our fruits, vegetables, dairy products and meats from spoiling during their long journeys burn up even more fossil fuel.
Many products are plastic wrapped and require a significant amount of special packaging to maintain their freshness, and keep them from being damaged in thousands of miles of shipping. This alone creates mountains of unnecessary waste in our landfills.
SOLUTION- Small-scale, organic farming operations have been shown to use 60% less fossil fuel per unit of food than conventional industrial farms. From field to sale average about 45 miles of transportation, a significant difference the average commercially raised product ships 1500+ miles.
It is doubtful we would be capable of eliminating all waste from our lives but it’s certainly feasible that buying products so fresh and from local sources that the use of excessive packaging is unnecessary.
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