Eat local organic food if you like, but don’t kid yourself that it’s ‘green’

18 September 2010

James Delingpole says You Know It Makes Sense

Budiansky’s historical point is well-made, as too is his argument that by shunning intensively produced food which has been grown in countries with the most suitable climates or using artificial fertilisers and technologies such as GM, Locavores are actually helping to destroy the rainforest: ‘Without modern farming, we literally would have cut down every acre of rainforest just to grow the staple food crops that feed the world.’

Yet the Locavores refuse to understand that by rejecting GM and making such virtues of ‘local’ and ‘organic’ they are part of the problem, not the solution. So by all means, as I do, support your local farmers’ market. But do so with a shudder of guilt rather than a warm glow of self-righteousness — for, remember, you’re killing the planet.

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Angus Bradley

September 19th, 2010 8:21pm Report this comment

Interesting article, thanks. Much as I hate to agree with anything that the guy who led us to bail out Northern Rock (Matt Ridley, Mr Rational Optimist), the energy/food miles point is really interesting. According to the Telegraph, about the only thing it makes more sense to but locally is good old British Onions! - http://bit.ly/caje20

bill

September 21st, 2010 12:28pm Report this comment

No it must be wrong..If DEFRA says so then it cant possibly be right . I mean they probably did it on their potty computer . What is James thinking .

crownarmourer

September 22nd, 2010 5:35am Report this comment

Well James you are probably correct but I find locally grown varieties taste better than say those grown in California. So I really don't care about the carbon footprint.
I enjoy the taste.

James P

September 22nd, 2010 8:27am Report this comment

I'm with you some of the way, JD, but I think there's some cherry-picking going on. Just because air-freight currently contributes 1% of food-miles (or CO2 or whatever the bad thing is meant to be) doesn't mean that Kenyan green beans are a good idea. For one thing, they require a lot of watering, depriving the locals of a fairly important commodity.

I'm lucky in that I can buy sweetcorn and tomatoes* grown within a couple of miles, and I have to tell you that they taste wonderful...

*where the CO2 produced by the boilers is pumped into the greenhouses to feed the plants!

Roger

September 27th, 2010 2:29pm Report this comment

I disagree we can grow almost anything now with virtually no oil miles or oil use. All my grenhouses are solar and thermal heat exchange powered in winter, and summer no cost sunshine.Take alook at former F1 racing driver Jody Sheckter's farm Laverstoke park 100% organic and biodynamically run!2500+acres!

Sylvie

September 28th, 2010 5:36pm Report this comment

I totally disagree with everything in this article. Every city could grow it's own food, even the tropical varieties. The energy should be free energy of course, whether nano-solar, geothermal or the suppressed kind (another story) and hydroponic systems as well as others (all organic of course) would provide a wealth of highly nutritious food stuffs. Someone needs to read the book by F.William Engdahl 'Seeds of Destruction', URGENTLY!

fred jones

October 1st, 2010 10:44am Report this comment

Like many people who write articles, James Delingpole is deceitful. Comparing food grown in a greenhouse, to food grown outside, is not smart. And when people drive to the farmer's market, they should do other business downtown too, so the cost of fuel for the purpose of buying stuff at the farmer's market is small.

It's not good to deceive people.

Nick

October 2nd, 2010 7:41pm Report this comment

Fred Jones, who is deceiving who here? You cannot grow roses in winter without a greenhouse, or massively expensive energy storage or movement systems. You cannot do "other business" on demand, which bit of business is thge core business? All local transport costs money. Also without the flow of energy the world and our besottedness with action, progress, advancement would be nothing, or at leat be slower. The world, and the universe when we inhabit it further in future, relies on the flow of energy to even exist.

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