Many foods are shipped from far away. Some people think that eating local food is more environmentally and economically. Do you think advantages outweigh its disadvantages ?

Nowadays, the consuming market has been witnessing a trend that consumers prefer shipping food from far away to eating the local food in recent decades. Despite the significant public attention of food shipping, it is still a reason which causes enormous drawbacks of the environment and economic implications. In terms of ecological benefits, eating domestic food rather than imported alternatives is a practice that individuals should adopt to protect the environment. In some countries, imported food can damage the local environment, so various imported foods are prohibited. This is because they can harbour diseases from foreign foods, causing harm to the local native flora and fauna. Moreover, using more local produce reduces food miles and reduce our carbon footprint. This is because foreign foods are often transported by air or ship and refrigerated to keep them fresh during the transporting process, thereby increasing global pollution from exhaust fumes. The economic advantage of eating local produced food is obvious as it might keep local farms healthy and boost the local economy. However, stop eating foreign food brings not only economic benefits. Food imports are a natural part of the global trade and globalisation, creating a free market with competition in food’s quality and price between global producers. Therefore, customers can no longer take advantage of eating imported food which is often cheaper and better than the local grown ones because of the better farming and processing technology. In conclusion, the important role of banning imported food in environmental protection on a local and global scale is undeniable. From an economic standpoint, I do not think that the advantages of eating local food only are stronger.