Live~NRGY

http://www.ottawasun.com/2012/09/22/local-foods-act-a-lesson-in-getting-economics-wrong

Congratulations on a well thought out article. True we cannot separate ourselves and become disconnected from greater trading partners and push people this way and that way to buy things they don’t want.

We have and will continue to sign off on larger and larger trading deals near and far. We’re all inter-connected globally on a NET basis. That’s the bottom line now. What is easy to see is the impact of buying or not from a next door neighbor right across the street. Not so when what we do affects a person right across the globe in say China or India or whatever next big economy is making our nice cheap things. When they have lay-offs and it affects government policies on national/international levels.

What I think Mr. McGuinty should have played on instead is this –

Okay, you wanna buy your food from Mexico or Chile or wherever – fine, read the fine print and label for pesticides and herbicides and other toxins. Eat at your own risk. Buyer beware. At least it’s easier to sue locally a person or corporation who is trying to kill you than someone right across the world.

What Mr. McGuinty didn’t want to say is this –

Monsanto – enough said.

Saying it that way would surely make people run and buy local alot faster. But hey I didn’t come up with the silly rules. I’m just pointing out the critical flaws of what is being said and done. Makes you think and see things in a different light now that we’re not talking about just buying local. We’re all inter-connected and the bottom line is that it’s a matter of morality, ethics when thinking about the bigger picture whether you’re a farmer or industry or corporation. After all we’re all human and on the same ship. What happens around the world will surely come home to roost sooner rather than later when spirals of change speeds up.

Finally it’s not about Chicken Little warnings – it’s happening on every level. The buy local thing also helps to see impacts being made from shipping something from across the global and totally out of season. Human bodies can only tolerate so much gradual change and then funny things start to happen. It’s a valid point to buy local. Now how do we make it work with supporting global trade. Let’s think deeper shall we !