PRACTICE 2: FOOD TRANSPORT

In this day and age of globlization, food transport seems to be a rising trend

among farmers. There are a couple of reasons for this and although it does bring

about some benefits for both farmers and consumers, this phenomenon has

proved to be more harmful to our society.

Overpopulation is partly attributable to the increase in the distance food travels.

When there is an excess of demand over supply in many areas where climatic

conditions are not appropriate for growing particular crops, food needs to be

delivered from other regions to meet the increased demand. Another reason is

the rapid development of transport system with the introduction of more

advanced vehicles such as ships or planes, which means long food miles are no

longer a big problem for farmers.

On positive side, consumers gain significant benefits as they are offered a wider

variety of products, allowing them to make comparison between different food

items in the market in order to find the most suitable for them. Farmers’ benefit

should aslo be considered as thanks to food shipment, farmers now earn greater

income from selling their products to a larger market.

Having said that, this trend poses some problems that nobody should ever

dismiss. Travelling from fields to plates means food can be spoiled easily during

food transport ; therefore, chemicals are added into food to ensure freshness. In

all likelihood, consumers themselves are under threat of health-relating issues

due to regular consumption of toxic food. When it comes to environmetal

destruction, food shipment is also to blame. The farther food travels, the more

proper plastic packaging is required, while plastic is one của the main culprit of

pollution as it is not biodegradable.

All in all, beside considerable benefits, the adverse impacts of food transport

on our health and environment are undeniable. The government encourage

consumption of locally grown food to create more opportunities for farmers.