OK, I looked back in my saved threads and found this:
http://www.endtimesreport.com/Starvation_In_America.html
It is part of thread:http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2132164/posts?q=1&;page=101
I hope the links come through.
>>>>but what if there are food shortages? That’s actually pretty likely if supply lines break down<<<<
Nowadays, it is not only tropical foodstuffs such as sugar, coffee, chocolate, tea, and bananas that are shipped long distances to come to our tables, but also fruits and vegetables that once grew locally, in household gardens and on small farms. An apple imported to California from New Zealand is often less expensive than an apple from the historic apple-growing county of Sebastopol, just an hour away from San Francisco. Is it really less expensive in the long run?
It is estimated that the average American meal travels about 1500 miles to get from farm to plate. Why is this cause for concern? There are many reasons:
* This long-distance, large-scale transportation of food consumes large quantities of fossil fuels. It is estimated that we currently put almost 10 kcal of fossil fuel energy into our food system for every 1 kcal of energy we get as food.
* Transporting food over long distances also generates great quantities of carbon dioxide emissions. Some forms of transport are more polluting than others. Airfreight generates 50 times more CO2 than sea shipping. But sea shipping is slow, and in our increasing demand for fresh food, food is increasingly being shipped by faster - and more polluting — means.
* In order to transport food long distances, much of it is picked while still unripe and then gassed to “ripen” it after transport, or it is highly processed in factories using preservatives, irradiation, and other means to keep it stable for transport and sale. Scientists are experimenting with genetic modification to produce longer-lasting, less perishable produce.
Those of us who shop at farmers markets have begun to make the transition to supporting a local food system. At the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, you are able to buy fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy products, eggs, honey, beans and potatoes that are all grown within a couple of hundred miles of where you live. Living in California, with the Bay Area’s Mediterranean climate, the heat of the Central Valley, and the fog of the coast, an amazing array of foods can be grown here. We can eat locally and seasonally with very little sacrifice. Still, some crops simply aren’t appropriate for our climate. But we can begin to look at imported foods as things that supplement our local foods, rather than supplant them. We can make a coconut milk curry filled with local seasonal vegetables; we can put local cream into our imported coffee, we can dip local strawberries into melted good quality chocolate from cacao grown in the tropics. Rebuilding a local food system doesn’t mean you never eat anything that has flown overseas, it just means that you start with what is fresh, local and seasonal. Shopping at the farmers market, maintaining a home garden, or participating in a CSA are wonderful ways to support a local food system. At the same time we help build food security for future generations; feed ourselves and our families food that is delicious, fresh, and nutritious; and support small-scale local farmers as they work each day to steward our land.
Food Mile Comparisons
A major study called “Food, Fuel, and Freeways” recently put out by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture in Iowa compiled data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to find out how far produce traveled to a Chicago “terminal market” — where brokers and wholesalers buy produce to sell to grocery stores and restaurants. We compared these figures to our Ferry Plaza Farmers Market to give you an idea of the difference!
- average distances from farm to market -
Terminal Market —Ferry Plaza Farmers Market
Apples 1,555 miles — 105 miles
Tomatoes1,369 miles — 117 miles
Grapes 2,143 miles — 151 miles
Beans 766 miles — 101 miles
Peaches 1,674 miles — 184 miles
Squash 781 miles — 98 miles
Greens 889 miles — 99 miles
Lettuce 2,055 miles — 102 miles