"If you are a NZ farmer," says Liberty Scott, or dependent on New Zealand agriculture or horticulture, "read very very carefully, your livelihood is at stake."The Food Miles myth is now rampant in the markets where much of our produce is currently sold. "The food miles fad isn't just followed by a minority of environmentalists in the UK," says Scott, "it is accepted mainstream mantra." If you're a New Zealand farmer or dependent on New Zealand agriculture or horticulture, then read Scott's post Fight Food Miles Now.
'Food Miles' is not environmentalism, it is protectionism, but if it isn't fought now it will be a form of protectionism that helps destroy the markets for NZ's agricultural exports.
LINK: Fight Food Miles now - Liberty Scott
RELATED: Politics-World, Politics-UK, Global Warming, Nonsense, Economics
6 comments:
Actually, as Fonterra are keen to point out, Food Miles work in our favour as NZ agriculture production techniques are so much more efficient that Europes that we actually spend less 'carbon' growing, processing and transporting foodstuff to britain than the brits do.
I agree, dumn idea, but no reason to fear our nations livelihood just yet.
The Food miles term was dreamt up by a marketing genius years ago to encourage British consumers to buy local.
Taking advantage of the global warming hysteria to reinforce that is just good marketing for the British/EU agricultural sector- that's capitalism and the free market. Suck it up.
Hamish, the point is that as long as Food Miles becomes the Brit's favourite proxy for 'doing the right thing' -- which Scott suggests is rapidly becoming the case -- then it doesn't matter how 'carbon efficient' NZ produce is, since the Food Miles will always be against us, and they won't want to hear your detailed arguments to the contrary.
So, a dumb idea that could very well affect this nation's livelihood -- as Anonymous says, just another dumb idea emerging from the global warming hysteria being used by an interest group to further their cause -- in this case protectionist Brits and Europeans.
The UK didnt mind food miles when NZ fed them during the war years and after.
It would be appropriate to remind the amnesic pricks.
That is exactly the point. For every utterence about why food miles AREN'T legit there are 20 which just say food miles = food from Kent good, food from NZ bad.... next
This is why Phil Goff doesn't get the point, and the High Commission doesn't either as it is clearly not warning the government of this. The Aussies presumably don't get it either.
The sham that "Food Miles" is is best demonstrated by the fact that NZ002 will take off and emit its nasty nasty carbon regardless of whether it has a couple of trays of kiwifruit on borad or not. It has nothing to do with the environment and everything to do with "by-local" at best, or protectionism at worst.
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