Question #5?

1. When I buy food I definitely think about quality and where it, (mainly meat,) is coming from but it is not necessarily for environmental reasons. Even though some people may think that it doesn't make much of a difference, I choose to buy eggs from free-range chicken and I try to avoid buying food that has been genetically enhanced. I do this mainly for my own health and to support farms that treat their animals right, even if they are ultimately going to be killed. It may seem hypocritical to some but we are all going to die eventually and I would rather be treated well and enjoy my life before I died or was killed then be shoved into a cage that was too small for me with excrement up to my knees and my legs breaking from my own weight. After reading many of these readings, however I do admit that I have been thinking more and more about where my food and other resources come from and where they go when I am done with them. When I have boughten local food in the past I have done it to support local farmers and to get food that was fresher and therefore more delicious. Now I see the energy and environmental benefits to buying locally. Last week I went to buy a mango from Whole Foods because it is a fruit that I love. I looked at the sticker on the mango and it said that it was from Peru. Obviously I was not going to be able to buy a local mango that was anywhere decent but reading the label marked "Peru" after learning about how much energy it takes to transport food, I began to doubt the environmental-friendliness of my food purchases in general. I have to admit that I still bought the mango so I don't even know if my awareness has gotten me much further on my actions towards becoming a more responsible purchaser.

2. Why? I am not a fan of fast food but yesterday after our indoor soccer tournament my teammates and I went to Chipotle to get some dinner and bond. I purposefully did not get any meat in my "burrito bowl", mainly because I am a bit of a food snob and assumed that the meat was not coming from the greatest source. I still realize, however, that their ingredients are most likely grown and bought in the cheapest possible way and because of this, probably come from one or more of the largest corporations who no doubt use GMOs and are uninterested in their effects on the environment. Also, they probably use one main distributor who must then transport the "goods" to the thousands of Chipotles around the country. I do not know how many Chipotles there are or where they are located but I am sure that a whole lot of energy is used on fuel for trucks and more energy to cool the trucks to turn them into the right environment to keep food over long time periods. Because of this, Chipotle and other fast food places are probably some of the worst companies with regards to environmental degradation.