FOOD PRODUCTION
SITUATION:
There are economies & advantage to raising food & crops at a local level.
Small-scale integrated localized settlements & economies enable enormous reductions in Food costs.
Study provide illustration of large savings with production in small scale, highly self-sufficient & cooperative local economies.
SIGNIFICANCE:
Use of complex, multi-functional & integrated local economies provide surprising results.
And in local growing of food is in close proximity of productive activities.:
Actual economies & advantages to raising food & crops at a local level.
Small-scale integrated localized settlements & economies enable enormous reductions in food costs.
Large savings with production in small scale, highly self-sufficient & cooperative local economies.
Study uses input–output analysis of one product, eggs. to make a local production even more viable.
Illustrates how big the difference & scale between two paths of food production can be.
Involves rarely recognized “diseconomies of scale” in assessing the impact of food sourcing.
SOLUTIONS:
This Simpler Way of producing food enables large reductions in resources, cost, & ecological impacts.
Being local also provides greater sustainability in food production and achievement.
Radical changes can be made in economic, political & cultural systems by being localized.
STATS: [If These Number Make Sense]
Dollar cost at the supermarket check-out 20 times that of the local path.
If labor costs is included then 100 times
Multiple for energy costs at the factory out-gate is about 166 kJ/4.3 kJ = 39/1.
A More Complete Accounting of the Local Production Model:
Adding energy costs of waste disposal & transport from supermarket to household might raise cost for industrial path.
To levels from above 1.5 MJ per egg, i.e., to the region of 350 times the energy cost for alternative path.
SOURCES:
1) NO TECH MAGAZINE
“Diseconomies of Scale”: High-tech Versus Low-tech Supply of Eggs
2) kris@lowtechmagazine.com Low-tech Magazine is written by Kris De Decker (Barcelona, Spain).
3) Referral by Mike Sheldrick, Labor & Environmental Expert, Editor, & Researcher
