Matthew Savage's Blog

Consumers expect all types of food, with no concession to season or geography. This used to be mainly a habit of the richer countries, but now the developing world is taking our example.

Why is this like this? Well part of the reason is that there was a little-known international treaty signed in Chicago in 1944 called the Convention on International Civil Aviation to help the (then) fledgling airline industry. This was basically a tax exemption on fuel for international transport of goods, unlike what we pay for cars and trucks. Also, the exemption extended to ocean freighters.

This is only part of the reason, the other part is that the labor in the developing world is so cheap.

There is much debate about the carbon footprint of a good versus the distance it traveled. They are not always the same. Sometimes, people argue, that the locally produced good has a higher carbon footprint than an imported good. I would think this is a rarity, and if this is the case, I think that we can find ways to minimize the locally produced footprint much easier than the one from across the world.

I would prefer to just reinstate the tax on all of this transported food from all over the world. We need the cost of food to reflect the distances covered and energy used to get the food to us. Firstly, we should have labels about where everything comes from, which I am starting to see more and more although you really have to have good eyes! Secondly, we should have a carbon footprint label on the item. Maybe they could be the same label.

Meanwhile, as a food shopper, I would suggest to buy as locally as you can and to buy in bulk as much as you can to minimize packaging. Now that I know better, I will change my much-ingrained habits. Or do my best…that’s about all any of us can do.

China is often perceived as a major polluter on the world stage, sacrificing the environment for rapid economic growth. This perception is often buttressed by images of polluted rivers and smog-infested landscapes.

In some ways, however, China is way ahead of the ball in protecting the environment. One prime example: China just placed a nationwide ban on plastic bags. The move is designed to prevent litter and save millions of barrels of oil each year. In a country where up to 3 billion plastic bags are used each day, the significance of this legislation is huge.

By comparison, the U.S. is still struggling to move away from plastic bags. San Francisco banned plastic bags last year, and last month Los Angeles became the second city in the U.S. to enact a plastic bag ban.

Certainly, change can sometimes be easier accomplished when dictated by an authoritarian government such as China’s. The beauty of our democracy, and the reason most of us would prefer to live in the U.S. than China, is that we can all play a part in making change. Frustratingly, though, this can all too often lead to political gridlock, or the hijacking of our future by narrow business interests.

The challenge is on. Let’s show the world that our democracy can bring about the changes that are needed for a sustainable future.

The spark that started in SF and LA needs to move across the country. Talk to your friends, family, and neighbors about ways to reduce or eliminate the use of plastic bags. Express your opinion in your local newspaper, and persuade your city council or state legislature that this change is needed. Our future depends on it.