Counting the Costs

 Shopping at a local co-op provides consumers the ability to know the exact geographic region their produce comes from. In Minneapolis, co-ops have been popular since the ’70s, helping to bolster the demand for locally grown produce during the summer months. For my meal, I prepared a delightful red lentil curry with some mangoes for desert. As someone with food allergies, I have to take special care in finding what ingredients are in a given product. My red lentils were grown and processed in a facility in Turkey containing gluten. Because of this, I made sure to wash them extra well before cooking. Moreover, many products in the bulk section at local supermarkets today are processed in facilities that increase the risk of cross contamination. Facilities exist the world over to help sort through cashews, various nuts, flour and wheat products sifting through all possible contaminants before they arrive on our shelves. My Nam Doc Mai mangoes were grown in Mexico and were labelled as organic. During winter months, much of the fresh produce in the United States comes from south of the border in Mexico. Mangoes require a tremendous amount of water, which can impact local water supplies. Intensive mango farming can lead to soil erosion and degradation, and expanding mango plantations often results in deforestation and biodiversity loss. Fertilizers and pesticides used in conventional mango cultivation affect soil and water quality, while long-distance transportation, whether by air or sea, significantly contributes to carbon emissions.

Additionally, the mass mono crop agriculture in red lentil production made me think more about what impact that has on the environment.These Turkish legumes are typically grown using rain-fed agriculture, which reduces the need for irrigation. Changes in rainfall due to climate change have posed challenges in the last decade. Lentils are great for soil health because they fix nitrogen, reducing the need for synthetic fertilizers. Despite these benefits, large-scale farming can reduce biodiversity and lead to habitat loss. The use of fertilizers and pesticides is moderate, and farming machinery, as well as transportation, relies on fossil fuels, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and affects air quality.

Think locally: permaculture is a positive for the environment