Many supermarkets are selling more and more products that are imported from other countries instead of selling food that is locally sourced. What are the reasons for this? Is thus a positive or negative development?

Some feel that supermarkets today sell too many imported

products

compared to the number of locally produced ones. In my opinion,

this

is a result of changes in consumer tastes and it is

a

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negative overall. The main cause behind

this

phenomenon is an exponential shift among consumers. Over the

last

century advances in sea and air transport have allowed supermarkets to import

products

from all over the world.

As a result

, an individual living in New England can try exotic fruits like mangos and pomegranates that cannot normally be grown in a

four season

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climate. Once a person tries a new food and enjoys it, they are more likely to sample other new fruits and vegetables. They

then

recommend those foods to others and shifts in taste quickly become mainstream and irreversible.

This

change is negative as it hurts local farmers and the environment. Local producers must now compete with large companies that source

products

such

as bananas at lower prices and undercut farmers. Consumers naturally buy the cheaper

products

and the result is that local farmers often cannot survive without government subsidies or must close their operations.

Moreover

,

this

development leads to greater consumption of fossil fuels. Imported

products

allow consumers to shop out of season,

for example

eating asparagus

year round

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, but

this

requires shipping

products

globally and increasing the burning of fossil fuels involved in transportation. In conclusion, though supermarkets now enable shoppers to have more varied palates,

this

poses tremendous risks for local producers and the environment.

Therefore

, tariffs on imports should be high.