You'd think it would be cheaper to be Green wouldn't you?
A couple of years ago my daughter asked me why poor people didn't just go to a nearby farmer to get food if they couldn't afford the grocery store.
That should be the way shouldn't it? It should be cheaper for me to go to a local farmer and purchase some vegetables. They should be cheaper because the farmer didn't have to use chemicals on his crop. They should be cheaper because they did not have to be shipped across the country to a grocery store. Yet they're not cheaper.
It's cheaper for me to go into a grocery store and buy vegetables that have traveled further in their short lives than I probably will ever travel, vegetables that were grown in fields sprayed with costly and environmentally damaging chemicals. And it's even cheaper yet if I skip the produce section completely and head to the canned vegetables that have done all of the above, plus have been processed with preservatives to keep them edible for years, and then packaged in cans we're now told are often lined with BPA's.
Why is it cheaper for all of that extra crap being done to my veggies?
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It's mainly because of economics. Most of those companies are HUGE and pay pittance for some poor farmer's crop and workers. They've got what's called economies of scale, they are large enough that their expenses aren't as 'damaging' to their bottom dollar. Shipping things in bulk costs less per unit than shipping a smaller amount, etc.
ReplyDeleteThe small guy down the road has huge expenses, much larger wages for any workers and a lot more hoops to jump through to start selling.
It sucks, but we embrace capitalism and accept it I guess.
I forgot to mention all the 'stuff' done to your veggies. Companies that spray that crap get more crop per acre than a company that does not, hence they make more money by spraying.
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