<![CDATA[Grist - Comment Feed for Can we be ‘green’ and eat tropical products, too?]]> Grist Comment Feed en Comment #1 by Olive Ridley http://www.grist.org/article/2009-06-19-green-eat-tropical/ Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:01:18 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/2009-06-19-green-eat-tropical/1 Travel miles are just one among many many considerations. Please consider that when you eat a product which has no competition locally, you are helping the economy of the place that made it.

The distinction between fair trade and fair wage products on the one hand, and products of commercial exploitative agriculture on the other, are much more stark and have many more consequences than food miles.

Going local makes a lot of sense if you want to support your local farmer and protect farming knowledge. Go local as a substitute to Big-Ag, and go fair trade for imported items, you'll help many more people that way.

And, eat less meat, this one choice has a much higher impact on your footprint than food miles.

 

]]> Travel miles are just one among many many considerations. Please consider that when you eat a product which has no competition locally, you are helping the economy of the place that made it.

The distinction between fair trade and fair wage products on the one hand, and products of commercial exploitative agriculture on the other, are much more stark and have many more consequences than food miles.

Going local makes a lot of sense if you want to support your local farmer and protect farming knowledge. Go local as a substitute to Big-Ag, and go fair trade for imported items, you'll help many more people that way.

And, eat less meat, this one choice has a much higher impact on your footprint than food miles.

 

]]> Comment #2 by RossBleakney http://www.grist.org/article/2009-06-19-green-eat-tropical/ Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:18:21 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/2009-06-19-green-eat-tropical/2 I agree with Olive's comments. I would also add that it matters how that product gets here. If you live along the coast and the product comes by ship, it probably didn't use much energy to get it here. If it came by air, it is a different matter entirely.

]]> I agree with Olive's comments. I would also add that it matters how that product gets here. If you live along the coast and the product comes by ship, it probably didn't use much energy to get it here. If it came by air, it is a different matter entirely.

]]> Comment #3 by sherrieh http://www.grist.org/article/2009-06-19-green-eat-tropical/ Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:56:37 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/2009-06-19-green-eat-tropical/3 When the colonists boycotted tea imported by the British, they turned to local plants as substitutes: strawberry leaves, raspberry leaves, bee balm, Ceanothus, and Labrador tea were all used.  And of course roasted chicory and dandelion roots are well-known coffee substitutes, roasted barley is somewhat less familiar but very tasty, and all of these more locally growable substitutes have the advantage of being caffeine-free.  (Or disadvantage if you're groggily reading this in the early morning)

I've never eaten a paw-paw, but I've heard they make good subsitutes for bananas in smoothies, and can be grown in much of the continent, being hardy to zone 5.  I can tell you from personal experience that "Cossack Pinapple" ground cherries do make a very pineapple-tasting smoothie, freeze beautifully, and are SO easy to grow.

]]> When the colonists boycotted tea imported by the British, they turned to local plants as substitutes: strawberry leaves, raspberry leaves, bee balm, Ceanothus, and Labrador tea were all used.  And of course roasted chicory and dandelion roots are well-known coffee substitutes, roasted barley is somewhat less familiar but very tasty, and all of these more locally growable substitutes have the advantage of being caffeine-free.  (Or disadvantage if you're groggily reading this in the early morning)

I've never eaten a paw-paw, but I've heard they make good subsitutes for bananas in smoothies, and can be grown in much of the continent, being hardy to zone 5.  I can tell you from personal experience that "Cossack Pinapple" ground cherries do make a very pineapple-tasting smoothie, freeze beautifully, and are SO easy to grow.

]]> Comment #4 by agnus2 http://www.grist.org/article/2009-06-19-green-eat-tropical/ Mon, 22 Jun 2009 13:03:02 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/2009-06-19-green-eat-tropical/4 The link to artisan tea grower in US didn't work for me.  Charleston Tea Plantation needs more fans!

]]> The link to artisan tea grower in US didn't work for me.  Charleston Tea Plantation needs more fans!

]]> Comment #5 by domitay http://www.grist.org/article/2009-06-19-green-eat-tropical/ Tue, 23 Jun 2009 01:33:02 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/2009-06-19-green-eat-tropical/5 Well some things grow best ins ome places, growing them elsewhere will only make it hybrid.

 

]]> Well some things grow best ins ome places, growing them elsewhere will only make it hybrid.

 

]]> Comment #6 by Storm Dragon http://www.grist.org/article/2009-06-19-green-eat-tropical/ Tue, 23 Jun 2009 14:26:23 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/2009-06-19-green-eat-tropical/6 As I've said before, it's probably human nature to want to import exotic delicacies.  We should probably regard bananas and such as special treats, and stop taking them for granted.  

]]> As I've said before, it's probably human nature to want to import exotic delicacies.  We should probably regard bananas and such as special treats, and stop taking them for granted.  

]]> Comment #7 by studiojmm http://www.grist.org/article/2009-06-19-green-eat-tropical/ Fri, 26 Jun 2009 03:09:40 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/2009-06-19-green-eat-tropical/7 Totally cute article with good tips. 

However, I can't believe that, all things considered, moving to Hawaii is the solution to the problems with coffee.  "108,000,000 coffee consumers in the United States" . . . squashed into 6,459 square miles of Hawaii.  Dude, the wildlife is having a rough time there already.

Alright, back to figuring out if my little urban townhouse's roof can support containers of soil for coffee, tea, and banana plants and wondering how wired the neighborhood squirrels will be when they discover the coffee beans.

]]> Totally cute article with good tips. 

However, I can't believe that, all things considered, moving to Hawaii is the solution to the problems with coffee.  "108,000,000 coffee consumers in the United States" . . . squashed into 6,459 square miles of Hawaii.  Dude, the wildlife is having a rough time there already.

Alright, back to figuring out if my little urban townhouse's roof can support containers of soil for coffee, tea, and banana plants and wondering how wired the neighborhood squirrels will be when they discover the coffee beans.

]]>