It was the nicest celery my wife had ever encountered. It was fresh, green, blemish-free; it was perfect. And when she checked to see where this amazingly perfect produce was from, she discovered it was from Spain.
I confess, this makes me uneasy and I cannot say exactly why. I have a gut reaction that this is not good for the earth. When I worked at a newspaper this feeling, this hunch, would not be enough for story. But, it would be enough to assign a reporter to investigate and determine whether or not there's a story here.
Is there? I think so.
For instance, when produce is shipped thousands of miles, it raises the possibility of introducing plant diseases to areas where the disease is as yet unknown. When I googled celery from Valencia, Spain, I learned a bacterial plant disease has been found in celery grown in Spain. This bacteria is found around the world. The question is whether or not the variety of the bacteria that is infecting Spanish celery is unique to Spain.
Another problem raised by attempting to grow produce in gigantic, factory farm fields is water for irrigation. Over-exploitation of water resources is an ever present threat.
I should have considered this last item, in my short list, as it is problem right here in Ontario, Canada. All too often huge farms producing relatively inexpensive food in vast amounts operate successfully thanks to poorly paid and poorly treated migrant workers. According to The Guardian, Spain may be among the worst offenders globally when it comes to the abuse of migrant workers.
A U.N. worker reported workers living in a migrant settlements in Spain are forced to live in conditions that rival the worst conditions anywhere in the world. The settlements are located kilometres away from water and all too often lack electricity and even adequate sanitary infrastructure.
I hope my celery was grown in a responsible manner. I pray it was but I don't know for sure.
1 comment:
That can be hard to tell.
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