Cities 07

"In place of old wants, satisfied by the productions of the country, we find new wants, requiring for their satisfaction the products of distant lands and climes. In place of the old local and nationals seclusion and self-sufficiency, we have intercourse in every direction, universal interdependence of nations” (Marx 224).

Oh my goodness, how I think this same thought EVERY time I go through the super market, especially the produce section, where most of our produce come from different countries. Not only is this not environmentally sound, it is not as fresh. I think that most often produce is picked up to a week before it is placed in grocery stores and it’s shipped up to 1500 miles (when shipped in the US…longer of course when you get foods from South America or Asia). The shipping alone is energy and fuel deficient and the lack of support of small local farmers is devastating. It concentrates power into few companies because mostly we get our produce from other countries because it is cheaper…and it is cheaper because it is sent in bulk. This bulk produce most often times contains pesticides and GMO-treated organisms because it’s cheapest to produce... Anyway, this quote reminded me of that. Of course it is not just with food, it’s with technology in general. We as US citizens are rarely satisfied with anything—always wanting the biggest of that and the most of those. It’s really quite sad actually.