Air-fraighted food ban or not ban

Air-freighted food, ban or not ban

Thanks to the highly development of transportation, we can now eat almost all kinds of fruit and vegetables all year around regardless of the seasons and their origins. However, it has been proposed by many environmentalists that food transportation is accumulating social, environmental and economic costs from green house gas emissions, noise, accidents and the like. There is a controversy among people with different standpoints. While in my opinion, air-freighted food shouldn’t be banned.

First of all, air-freighting of fruit and vegetables accounts for only a tiny proportion of UK greenhouse gas emissions. While, large amount of air pollution comes from road transportation. So, it matters little whether we ban the air-freighted food or not. Instead, we should try to find out the main factor and come up with a really effective solution. As Gareth Thomas, the UK Trade and Development Minister, said: “…the distance food has traveled is not a good way to judge whether the food we eat is sustainable.” It is quite true. According to a survey in Beijing, last year, the average Beijing adult living in Chaoyang District travels about 201 kilometers by car to shop for food, which emitted more CO2 than did air freighting.

Whether to ban it or not is not a simple question to make. We must contemplate the situation synthetically by comparing the social costs of

carbon emission with the benefits arise from trade. The fact is that the policy could do little to solve climate change, but will influence severely the livelihoods of many rural famers in the developing countries who make their livings by the trade. Then how can we carry out this policy with little efficiency regardless of the living of many people?

Moreover, from an economic perspective, it will do great harm to the global economy as a whole if all the countries tend to purchase food locally. It is at root the rules of natural economy to do this.For one thing, it will place limitations on the international trade including import and export. On the other, it may also break the links and friendship among countries. In consequence, more conflicts may be aroused and the rich and poor gap may be further broadened. Last but not least, when we concern about health, buying only locally grown food can provide only limited food choices, which can hardly meet people’s taste and nutrition needs.

All in all, whether it is a matter of being healthy, developing global economy or protecting the environment, air-freighted food should not be banned. It may be a long-term policy for us, but a right one.