Today much of the food people eat gets transported from farms that are thousands of miles away. Some people believe it would be better for the environment and the economy if people only consumed food produced by local farmers. Would the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?

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Every day,
food
items
such
as vegetables, fruits, rice, and other items are being shipped from certain villages to distant places
such
as metro cities and towns for the consumption of citizens residing there. A few people cite that it would be economically and environmentally beneficial if residents of metro cities and towns consume crops and fruits that are cultivated locally rather than transporting those items from great distances.
To begin
with, in certain places which has dry weather conditions
such
as Dubai or California, it is
next
to impossible to grow certain fruits and vegetables and
hence
in order to meet the demands of the people, foodstuff items are moved from other parts of the country to
such
cities.
This
practice seems to be advantageous, as
this
addresses the essential needs of the people residing in
such
places and thereby keeping the citizens healthy.
Moreover
, impoverished nations
such
as Bangladesh, which has a huge scarcity of
food
items
such
as Milk and seafood, import them from countries like Denmark, which is a pioneer in diary and seafood items, to address the vital demands of the public.
On the contrary
, environmental activists cite that carrying foodstuffs to longer places would immensely harm the environment, as trucks and container ships emit gases that could cause the greenhouse effect. These reformers stress the fact that rather than importing
food
items from a remote place, cities and developed towns could create the appropriate atmosphere to cultivate crops or improvise the nearby markets or milk farms to meet the requirements of local people.
This
way people in metropolises would no longer have to wait until the
food
truck or container ship arrives and
instead
, the same can be purchased from local markets. In countries
such
as Sweden, people consume foods that are locally available or grown in their surroundings, which can save the environment as well as improve the livelihood of local farmers.
Thus
,
this
is clearly beneficial to a large extent. To conclude,
although
the merits of importing
food
items from longer distances to address the demands consumers cease to exist, the demerits of
this
practice which causes profoundly serious implications to the atmosphere immensely overweighs the meagre benefits.
Hence
shipping
food
items from faraway places is enormously detrimental to the environment and is undoubtedly disadvantageous.
Submitted by aj534160 on

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Topic Vocabulary:
  • carbon emissions
  • carbon footprint
  • local economy
  • food security
  • supply chain disruptions
  • cultural heritage
  • farming practices
  • nutritional value
  • local food systems
  • imported goods
  • economies of scale
  • environmental benefits
  • transportation
  • community support
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