Band 8 essay sample | Food travels long distances to reach consumers
The following is an essay submitted by one of our students.
Today food travels thousands of miles before it reaches customers. Why is this so? Is this a positive or negative trend?
Band 8 essay sample
It is true that imported food items need to travel long distances before they reach the supermarket. There could be several reasons for this trend, and I would argue that it has both advantages and disadvantages.
One of the obvious reasons for importing food is globalisation. Today’s global trade with low transportation cost and fewer trade barriers has encouraged the transport of food from one country to another. Another reason could be overpopulation. Some countries, in particular developing countries, generally have significant growth in population. Due to this it is not always possible to fulfill the needs of their citizens with domestically produced food and therefore they have to depend on imported food. Finally some countries do not have sufficient resources or geographical conditions to produce certain crops in their own farms. In such circumstances, it is a good idea to get those foods items imported.
Food miles can have an impact on people’s life. On the one hand, it can be a cause of global warming. Food transport burns out a lot of fossil fuels and generates co2 emissions which lead to global warming. Another drawback is local farmers will lose job as they will not be able to compete with international market and this will adversely affect economy of the nation.
On the other hand, imported food are cheaper that local products. Moreover, people will have a wide range of choice in super market and also most food items will be available to them throughout the year. Furthermore, we can use more land to build more houses. As population grows, we need more houses and other facilities such as schools, wider roads and so on. If we do not have to produce our own food, this land can be used for constructing more houses.
In conclusion, while people depend on imported food items for various reasons, in my opinion, this trend has both positive and negative aspects.