local products - produce, beer, wine, whatever
May 24th, 2007It’s been on my mind lately.
The arguments for consuming local food make a certain amount of sense - if it’s local, it didn’t require as much burnt fuel to get to my local grocery store. You can define your own ‘local’ boundary, but I’ve been trying to stick with ‘Ontario’ over the last little while to see how it might affect my diet. It seems as though it wouldn’t affect me much. I generally don’t eat as many fresh vegetables in the winter because they are expensive (i.e. imported from South America) anyways.
So, local/regional food makes sense. Can we apply it to all consumables? Should I use the same rules for beer and wine?
Beer, wine and other short lifespan items make sense. They are consumed quickly, so all the pollution generated during shipping is for 1 hour of use. It would make sense to acquire these items locally, because there is no lifespan or number of uses to spread the pollution out over (think depreciation).
There are many local and international breweries producing beer in the area that I can think of off the top of my head - Mill St, Amsterdam, Steamwhistle, Molson…
We are also spoiled with wineries in the niagara region. For some reason, the VQA or LCBO don’t carry many of the higher end wines. However, you can visit the wineries and pickup a case - (i hear) it’s a beautiful area out there. I’m guilty of not visiting.
For items with longer lifespans, like a table, or clothing (for some), the pollution from shipping can be spread out over the lifespan of the item. So if the table lasts 15 years, or the shirt lasts 5, the pollution can be spread out a bit. While it still makes sense to reduce pollution as much as possible, if you use something for a longer period of time (i.e. less new things you buy) we have less purchases, thus less pollution, less waste, etc.
I’m still going to think about this, but I might shift my wine and beer selections too.
May 24th, 2007 at 12:57 pm
Does buying locally-grown not limit your selection? Tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, apples, etc. are pretty much the same no matter where they’re grown. But locally-grown bananas, oranges, or pineapples? Maybe they do — my brother-in-law’s father has a lemon tree, and he’s in Hamilton.
However, unless you’re a university student, beer isn’t just “beer”. There’s a world of difference between say, Guinness and Molson Golden. If you happen to like your local brewery has to offer, awesome. I think I’d rather drink some local tap water than Steamwhistle or Molson though. That isn’t to say they’re all bad.
Same goes for wine. I’m certainly no connoisseur, but some Ontario wines are actually quite good. It probably varies by store, but my local liquor store seems to have a decent selection of Ontario wines. Yes you could drive, but let’s hope you have a “green car”.
May 25th, 2007 at 9:21 am
My neighbor has a fig tree and lemon tree in his backyard - which live in an extremely flammable heated plastic tent in the winter. But, he also uses his bbq in the garage, so, I can’t really expect that much.
That’s not to say your point isn’t valid. Choices are definitely limited. However, I just happen to prefer the produce that happens to grow locally. I haven’t weened myself off everything yet, just identifying what might be problematic - bananas so far.
True - some beer is crap. But, this whole green thing isn’t without its sacrifices. I definitely can’t maintain this lifestyle of the rich and famous..
I can deal with steamwhistle.. and maybe quebec microbrews are close enough - which means I can include unibroue in my selection of beers.
I keep hearing the ontario wines carried by the LCBO and VQA aren’t the best of what the region has to offer. I’ll have to dig into that… and I won’t be driving anywhere, who am I kidding.
November 19th, 2007 at 3:46 am
Follow these guidelines and you will build that new home with little, or no, problems. metal roofing can help…
December 20th, 2007 at 7:41 am
I would like to see a continuation of the topic