2008 Woodie Awards
Letter to the Editor
Issue date: 5/30/08 Section: Opinions & Editorials
Jessica Vogt is right! The subject of "green" at Downer is even more complicated than her letter in last week's Lawrentian suggests. The basic forces that have influenced the evolution of industrialized food service for the past hundred years are changing. I believe that it is critical that Lawrence understand the changes and their consequences for Lawrence Dining Services.
Much of what Jessica writes is right on the money. Something that is important, however, is that these terms that are bantered around, green, environmentally friendly, eco friendly, sustainable, have moved significantly into the marketing realm. As an example, we recently looked at bio degradable carryout products. These were marketed as "sustainable." These particular products are made of corn based "bio plastics," but failed to mention that industrial corn production in the United States and elsewhere can hardly be described as sustainable. What they really meant was that these products are not "petroleum based." The point is that we really need to fully understand the motives behind all that green. We strive to make informed decisions at Lawrence Dining Services.
The cost of food in general has increased at a rate that significantly outpaces inflation for the past two years and it doesn't look like this will let up anytime soon. The cost of fuel has added directly to the cost of producing and distributing food. This is due to greater global demand for oil. At the same time, the growing bio fuel industry has put additional pressure on the crops that are the basis of the world food economy. More directly, bio fuel and food are now competing for croplands. As a result, the price of commodities has further increased.
Competition for cropland is having a detrimental impact as banked land is brought back into production and rain forest land is cut down for new bio fuel production. We all know that forest preservation is critical to reducing global warming.
What does the future hold? James Howard Kunstler has written for many years about the impact of the impending oil crisis and concluded long ago that economies would become more local. Unless you believe that the cost of oil will suddenly fall significantly, it is hard to argue with this outcome.
Much of what Jessica writes is right on the money. Something that is important, however, is that these terms that are bantered around, green, environmentally friendly, eco friendly, sustainable, have moved significantly into the marketing realm. As an example, we recently looked at bio degradable carryout products. These were marketed as "sustainable." These particular products are made of corn based "bio plastics," but failed to mention that industrial corn production in the United States and elsewhere can hardly be described as sustainable. What they really meant was that these products are not "petroleum based." The point is that we really need to fully understand the motives behind all that green. We strive to make informed decisions at Lawrence Dining Services.
The cost of food in general has increased at a rate that significantly outpaces inflation for the past two years and it doesn't look like this will let up anytime soon. The cost of fuel has added directly to the cost of producing and distributing food. This is due to greater global demand for oil. At the same time, the growing bio fuel industry has put additional pressure on the crops that are the basis of the world food economy. More directly, bio fuel and food are now competing for croplands. As a result, the price of commodities has further increased.
Competition for cropland is having a detrimental impact as banked land is brought back into production and rain forest land is cut down for new bio fuel production. We all know that forest preservation is critical to reducing global warming.
What does the future hold? James Howard Kunstler has written for many years about the impact of the impending oil crisis and concluded long ago that economies would become more local. Unless you believe that the cost of oil will suddenly fall significantly, it is hard to argue with this outcome.
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