Your Food Travels Farther than You Do

Many of you by now know that I am a bit on the anti-corporation tip. It's not that I think all corporations are bad, I just think the extreme ones are. You don't have to be a big corp to be an extreme one, either. For instance, it's pretty extreme to think you should break a law because following it is more expensive than blowing it off.

Just yesterday while spending hours walking around 6 Flags and just minutes screaming my throat out on coasters, I mused with TheFiancee, about why there are no Mom-N-Pop sandwich shops around anymore. We had eaten at Subway on the way to the amusement park and it got me wondering. Subway's the healthiest fast food out there for your body, but what about the healthiest for your local economy? Sure, a chain creates just as many jobs as a local business, but does it pay as well? Which is better? Putting more money in your neighbor's pocket or giving some to him and some to some suit in another city who gets even more money from other people like you in other cities?

I like to think that the neighbor needs all he/she can get since most neighbors seem to work for corps. Seems a shame that the "Mom-N-Pop" is going the way of the dinos.

Then, today, I found [http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/07/living_on_the_1_1.php|this post] over at Treehugger.com that talks about the 100-Mile-Diet. The idea is to eat food that has been produced within 100 miles of your home. Frankly, I wouldn't know where to begin--especially since I love my coffee. Still, it would be interesting to look into it, especially since one of the things the post mentions is the following quote:

"For the average American meal [...], World Watch reports that the ingredients typically travel between 2,500 and 4,000 kilometres, a 25 percent increase from 1980 alone. This average meal uses up to 17 times more petroleum products, and increases carbon dioxide emissions by the same amount, compared to an entirely local meal."

Man, that's further away from home than I usually get!

In the end I guess my feeling is that we should all be a bit more self-sufficient. Sure, it's fine to buy a burger at McDonald's every blue moon (as in, once a month) but eating there all the time? Sure, it's fine to wear Nike shoes, but don't you want to support some non-sweatshop-labor companies? Pay attention to where your money goes and try giving some to the little guy so that the little guy doesn't have to work for the big guy.

Why put all our financial eggs in one basket that is owned by a corporation? Spread the wealth and the use. Relying on one or even just a few sources for what you consume or use every day is a bad idea, in my opinion. What would you do if suddenly they stop producing your favorite item? Go with the little guy? Sorry, he's out of business.

Choices are what capitalism is supposed to be about. Variety is gone when you have a handful of companies owning every choice you have available to you.