Environmentalism and Prisoners have the same problem.

What if everyone…? You can fill in the question with whatever you like and it will be an instantly recognizable argument. Whether  we are talking about people picking flowers in some imaginary field or we are talking about voting. If you mention to someone you intend to do something that is generally considered irresponsible or ‘bad’ people will say: What if everyone did “Some Bad Thing”? They will use this as a way to convince you that you shouldn’t do it - because if everyone did it something awful would happen. This is generally the state of Environmentalist discourse. Why shouldn’t I leave my computer on all day? Why shouldn’t I drive around my old beater from 1957 that dumps out black smoke as if it were designed for that sole purpose? It’s obvious right? Because if we all did it we would damage the environment. We would have smog problems everywhere. All of the fish will die. All of the polar ice caps will melt. This could go on ad nauseam.

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It seems to be all the rage these days to worry about green house gases, carbon emissions, and how your day to day life affects the environment. I came across a short article discussing some of the research thats been done on how much the transporting of foods long distances contributes to environmental problems. Or rather, how much it doesn’t.

“In the United States, a 2007 analysis found that transporting food from producers to retailers accounted for only 4 percent of greenhouse emissions related to food. According to a 2000 study, agriculture was responsible for 7.7 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. In that study, food transport accounted for 14 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with agriculture, which means that food transport is responsible for about 1 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.” Full Article