You need packaging and transport for anything not at home.
These kind of charts are completely oblivious to scaling and the economy you realize with it IMO. It's individualism with green glasses.
this post was submitted on 16 Aug 2023
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Solarpunk Farming
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They also ignore the fact that most people don't have the space and/or time and/or energy for growing their own, and that most people also don't live near farms, or hell, near any decent food shops, never mind those who are disabled and couldn't grow our own food even if we had all the land and time available (~not to mention literally depend on food delivery to survive).
Individualism with green glasses is the perfect description.
I will preface this by the fact that I am a home gardener and vegetarian for elecological reasons.
Farmers markets all over the world now days are not farmers markets.
They are mass grocery resellers. They buy in bulk from wholesale grocery suppliers and just sell at the farmers market.
Pineapples in minnesota in April? Sure, that is from a "local farmer".
I live in Belgium and we have cheesemongers with 100 types of non-local cheeses, chemical coated oranges and summer fruits in January complete with stickers from mass produced fruit and veggies? Not only that, but it is then more expensive than a grocery store.
Not to mention that in both the US and here in belgium, farmers markets are ~50% non-food items with reselling mass produced clothing or blatantly selling really cheap candles and soap and other things that clearly game from mass produced hobby kits for a 200% markup.
Farmers markets literally aren't farmer's markets anymore. They are just open-air resellers.
Yeah I've noticed that here in the US for produce mostly. We do get locally produced goods and things though where I go which is great, but I couldn't help but notice produce mostly seems bought, and I live in a place pretty good for growing year round :(
Pineapples in minnesota in April? Sure, that is from a “local farmer”.
I grew up within easy walking distance from Minnesota and the local farmers market opened in June. Which Minnesota farmers market are you talking about that's open in April? I'd like to see their website, will you link it please?
I grew up within easy walking distance from Minnesota
Lol how to spot someone who doesn't know what they are talking about. Minnesota has hundreds of farmers markets in different areas, that open at different times, and come from different places.
Most open in very very early may (that is the month after April) like the huge Minneapolis market, and many have less frequent markets during other parts of the year.
Please tell me what minnesota farm has pineapples, oranges, bananas, and late season produce already grown and ready for harvest in May?
Thanks to economies of scale, driving to your local farm to pick up groceries is VASTLY worse for the environment than trucking it to a supermarket and picking up everything there.
The final leg of the trip is by far the worst in terms of resource depletion. Shipping goods across half the world is hyper-efficient, in a slow ship that's mostly cargo and floating on water. But driving to the store of market means you're moving 2 tons of metal at 90mph, stopping and starting it repeatedly to pick up 400 grams of tomatoes.
The farmer's market is by far the worst here, since is usually involves a small truck moving the product to multiple locations for a single sale, and then transporting it by private vehicles again. Even growing it at home is mediocre at best, assuming you need to drive to pick up seeds, soil and fertilizer. And growing food at home doesn't reduce your grocery-store trips, you're still moving your 2-ton car there, only instead of tomatoes, potatoes, beef and bread, you're only picking up potatoes, beef and bread. You're basically adding 2 trips to the garden store to your travels and subtracting nothing.
Shipping goods across half the world is hyper-efficient, in a slow ship that's mostly cargo and floating on water.
Cargo ships are financially efficient, sure. But in large part that's because the fuel it uses is subsidized by the rest of the oil industry (it's so cheap because it's a byproduct of producing oil that can't be used anywhere else) and it's incredibly toxic and polluting. International supply chains in general are both taxed and subsidized primarily for political reasons - economic or environmental efficiency or the lack thereof are byproducts of governments acting in their own interests to facilitate or limit trade. I really wouldn't point to any of that as a positive.
I get your point about transportation efficiencies and so forth. And yes, we need public transit, we need bicycles, we need denser housing and more efficient last step supply chains and generally to end personal ownership of automobiles because they're profoundly wasteful. That doesn't make eating locally bad, nor does it make the desire to shorten supply chains in general a bad aspiration.
in all except the first, you need to transport the purchased goods to your own home. but it's only listed in the last one.
Also delivery is often better for the climate than buying at a store. A store has AC, heating end lighting which consume a lot of energy. A warehouse does not, or is more efficient because products are packed more dense. Obviously for food that may not matter since you'd likely need a supermarket regardless. But for non-perishable items delivery is way more efficient and sustainable.
The last two seems slightly disingenuous.
Sure, let me just farm some cows real quicl so I can have a burger or steak. Also need to keep pigs on hand incase that bacon. Also need room for crops. Also need chickens too.
On a half acre, with no training or anything.
Who is this graphic for?
If you care enough about the emissions that get released in a longer chain of delivery, you probably also dont eat meat.
I am not to blame for emissions or the environment, corporations need to do better on that themselves seeing as they are the ones causing 99% of it. Putting the blame on the individual is just cruel and adds unnecessary stress on people who simply don't need it.
Also, one person with a personal garden isn't going to change anything at all. One person not eating meat will just be replaced by 5 newborns from a trailer park in about 3 years. Put the blame on corporations where it belongs. Unfortunately with the state of the world the way it is nothing will change until it is no longer profitable to rape the planet. I'd rather try to enjoy what little I can with what I can before the world fully bursts into flames.
If you follow your logic to its end it alsobis completely fine to roll coal and be a general piece of shit since it wouldnt actually change anything on a big scale.
Where do you think all those corporations get their demand and money from? If nobody bought any more meat the slaughterhouses would have to close down eventually. And sure, you alone wont be able to make any big changes overnight but if enough people do it at the same time you will have an influence on the market and governments.
Obvious you don't start growing everything on your balcony, duh.