I ♥ my local coop p.3

It’s Wednesday and we’re midway through my reasons for making a local co-op by the name of Rainbow Grocery, here in SF, my sweetheart. I’ve given two reasons already which were…

#1 – It’s 100% vegetarian friendly.

#2 – They have an amazing bulk section which allows me to cut down on packaging.

Today, reason #3 -

Lots of Fair Trade, Local, and Organic goods –In their book, A Slice of Organic Life, English socialite, environmentalist, and editor Sheherazade Goldsmith and her contributing writers make a lot of excellent points on the benefits of buying local, fair trade and organic goods. Rainbow has each in abundance when compared to many of the other markets and major chain grocers out there.

“Air-freighting fresh produce has more than trebled in the past 20 years and, if the current shopping trends continue, we may rely on foreign imports for most of our everyday goods.”

While I do believe this statement is more about Goldsmiths native country of England than it is about other countries, it’s something I believe we should all keep in mind. According to A Slice of Organic Life “… the UK could meet over 70% of its eating needs by using food produced in that country, currently half of all the food consumed there is imported.” Why?

Rainbow carries Jams and jellies from California, honey from Marin County, artisan soaps from San Clemente California, Northern California Cheeses, local bakery treats from Kika and other local sweet makers, tasty San Francisco and Napa Valley beers and wines, and tons of organic fruit and veggies from here in California and neighboring states in the US. The list goes on and on.

I’m not saying importing and exporting is bad, it’s an integral part of the world’s economy and relations between countries. What I am saying is I think all countries could benefit from being a little more self sustaining in all aspects of life, you know, fewer pointless wars and such.