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Every day we are faced with choices that will push our planet even further to that final precipice of no return. Every day many of us confidently assuage our guilty conscience.
After all it is only one water bottle/plastic bag/empty can/clamshell. Does it really matter if we do not compost/conserve water/reduce electrical consumption/find an alternative to fossil fuels?
Many of us now believe that we are responsible for our collective actions that will alter the lives of our grandchildren. It can be hard to separate the truth from the cries of wolf. So, put aside all the theories, debates, and essays, quiet your brain chatter and go….to the supermarket.
My new food challenge is determining the quickest and shortest route to my plate. I love the farm-to-table, I buy local food movements, but I still enjoy exotic fruit - which I define as blueberries in the winter, those glorious little kiwis and of course the best of all – potassium-rich bananas.
I started tracking where this lovely trio might ship from. Wow, if those air miles were redeemable, there would be a Tesla in every garage.
Kiwis can travel almost 14,000 kilometres from New Zealand, or almost 8,000 kilometres from Greece to Toronto. Blueberries travel almost 4,000 kilometres from Mexico, or 50 kilometres away in Barrie and frozen for winter usage. And the healthy banana can travel 4,300 kilometres from Colombia, or 13,000 kilometres from the Philippines.
I now shop with a calculator and a budding determination to make better choices. Yes, my banana choice will make a difference as I move toward my next step - weaning myself from these long-distance environmental grenades, and choosing locally-grown blueberries from my freezer and healthy Meaford apples.
Submitted by Christine Hager on behalf of Sustainable Orillia
