Local really doesn't necessarily mean better. Small local farms may produce tons of nitrogen fertilizer run-off, use lots of chemical contaminents and are not necessarily efficient. Massive industrial farms are by and large more efficient in local producers. So much so that even with carbon emissions from transportation, they may have a smaller carbon footprint than local products.
Don't believe that local automatically means better sustainability. In many cases it may be, but without doing a bit more research you really can't say for sure. If you're looking for the combined punch of helping your local economy and eating healthy, then buy local.
I'll agree on the bottled water and the cans.



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Posted July 20, 2008 | 07:48 PM (EST)