An Environmentalist Gets Lunch

The concept of food-miles and the idea that eating locally is better for the environment is subjected to actual research?  Who would have thought?

An Environmentalist Gets Lunch by Hannah Ritchie over at Works in Progress

I know that my way of eating is low-carbon. I’ve spent years poring over the data. Microwaves are the most efficient way to cook. Local food is often no better than food shipped from continents away. Organic food often has a higher carbon footprint. And packaging is a tiny fraction of a food’s environmental footprint, and often lengthens its shelf-life.

We like to get all worked up about stuff and then do mostly symbolic things to treat our anxiety, and this has been true of environmentalism for years. That doesn't mean that we should do nothing about the environment, or education, or drug addiction, but it does mean we should be alert not to put our energy into things that only make us feel better, not do any actual good.