18
A chat with my uncle at his farm in Boise made me question the whole 'food miles' thing.
He told me his local tomatoes, grown in heated greenhouses all winter, actually burn more fuel than trucking them from Mexico where they grow naturally. That hit different because it's the opposite of what you always hear. Has anyone else seen real numbers on this?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
faithwalker1mo ago
Yeah, that "grown naturally" part is key. My buddy up in Maine had the same shock with lettuce. His local winter greens from a hydroponic place used so much power for lights and pumps, the carbon footprint was worse than shipping from California. He saw the energy bills. It totally changed how he shops.
6
rileyellis1mo ago
Maine in the winter needs that much power just for lettuce? That's wild. I always figured local was automatically better, no matter what. But if the grow lights are running on fossil fuels, you're just moving the pollution from the truck to the power plant. Makes you wonder how many other "green" choices are actually worse when you see the full picture.
2
xenagarcia1mo ago
Totally get that, it's a real eye opener. My local co-op started labeling where the power comes from for their indoor farm stuff. Stuck with their summer greens but switched to frozen veggies from further away in winter. The math on transport versus constant heating and light is crazy sometimes. Makes you check where things are actually grown, not just sold.
4