It is true that a variety of foods are delivered over long distances. Some people hold a view that consuming foods produced in the local area has a positive effect on the environment and economy. Although there could be certain drawbacks, I still argue that the positive aspects are far greater.
On the one hand, eating foods transported from distant areas has a few demerits. Initially, it may cause the loss of occupation in local labor. The reason being that some people prefer transported foods from far distance to domestic alternatives, which results in less revenue for the local agribusiness so that the lay off occurs. For instance, Chinese durians have a competitive price as well as good quality in comparison with durians produced in VietNam due to better farming and processing technology so consumers tend to purchase foreign ones. This indirectly leads to job loss for local farmers. The next issue is the global pollution contributed by eating imported foods. This is simply because foods are often transported by airs, ships or lorries which release a great deal of exhaust fumes, thereby increasing carbon footprint and affecting the environment.
On the contrary, the consumption of transported foods is not without its benefits. From an economic standpoint, consuming imported foods helps to balance the supply and demand chains among nations and continents. There is no denying that every country has different kinds of food depending on weather conditions and geography. This brings about the lack of needed foodstuffs in some certain areas. Take rice cultivation as an example, good weather conditions and rich soils allow VietNam plants to domestic use as well as to export in a massive scale to Western where staple crops are maize and sorghum. In terms of environment, transported foods help consumers vary their meals. Instead of only enjoying local grown foods, people can also consume many kinds of food in every corner of the world. For example, nowadays Vietnamese people can easily purchase foreign grapes which are more aromatic and bigger than the one produced in Ninh Thuan province.
In conclusion, while I recognise the possible disadvantages, I still consider it as a positive development.