sabato 10 maggio 2008

La spesa intelligente


Post un po’ controverso...lungo e tedioso. Pace.
La spesa a Km 0, mi dicono i ben informati, sta prendendo piede anche in Italia. Si tratta di acquistare prodotti localmente, favorendo i produttori locali ed abbattendo in questo modo i costi ambientali (emissioni di CO2) dovuti al trasporto della merce.
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Il ragionamento non fa una piega...soprattutto per una come me, nata e cresciuta “alla Heidi”, sui monti. Dove sono cresciuta io non e’ raro trovare la sportina d’insalata attaccata al cancello (segno che la Nonna Giannina e’ passata di li’...), oppure un cartoccio con le uova fresche (zia Anna, sempre di corsa)...una dimensione che qui, emigrata ed isolata, un po’ mi manca. Sara’ per quello che l’idea di andar per fattorie a comprar formaggio, acquistare le uova al Kinderboerderij con la MSGP, oppure tentare l’abbonamento alla Kievit di Katwijk (verdure e frutta dal produttore al consumatore) mi faceva cosi’ tanta gola. E’ l’effetto Heidi, no?
Pero’ pero’...se siete atterrati a Schiphol di notte, avrete notato una cosa del paesaggio Olandese...e’ illuminato. E non sto parlando di strade e centri abitati. Se siete fortunati ed il cielo e’ limpido, potrete vedere tanti, tantissimi quadratini luminosi, che diventano sempre piu’ grandi man mano che l’aereo scende. Diventano cubi luminosi. Sono serre. Iluminate si, ma anche riscaldate (le fragole col gene anti-congelamento ricavato dal pesce, per citare quell’xyz di Capanna NON ESISTONO, le fragole al freddo non crescono, quindi vanno riscaldate). Ed allora mi chiedo quanto eco-friendly sia acquistare cibo a Km zero. Dove sono indicati i costi per la produzione? Ed il totale (trasporto+produzione)? E poi, scusate tanto...ma cose come l’espresso italiano e il koffie verkeerd olandese...ci coltiviamo la piantina di caffe’ in casa?! E quei poveri Cristi oltre oceano che vivono producendo caffe’? e il te’?
Mi sa che la panacea del km0 e’ un po’ sopravvalutata...ha i suoi vantaggi: riscoperta di prodotti locali, gusto migliore del prodotto (i cavolini di bruxelles mangiati a meno di due ore dal momento del raccolto SONO DOLCI...provare per credere), boost all’economia locale....resta il fatto che produzione, trasporto e retailing hanno tutti un prezzo: a Londra una rosa Olandese costa all’ambiente 5 volte di piu’ che una rosa kenyota...nonostante quest’ultima si faccia 4000 miglia in volo. Se vi fate 10 km di macchina solo per andar a comprare una cassetta di frutta, e' piu' eco-friendly compare quella del Kenya che trovate al supermercato del paese. Paradossalmente, e' piu' eco-friendly comprare da un grosso produttore che non da un piccolo agricoltore...
Aiuterebbe ritornare a mangiare cibi stagionali, ma come faccio a convincere la MSGP che l’”appol” (ogni forma di “pomo”, sia esso del Trentino o d’oro...) non si puo’ mangiare 365 giorni l’anno? Il MGP ha messo il lutto al braccio quando ho sentenziato “basta pomodori a dicembre”...salvo poi riaversi quando gli ho spiegato che nel divieto non includevo la salsa di pomodoro della mamma e i pelati in scatola...Esistono ancora le verdure di stagione in questo posto infestato di serre?
Pare che in questi giorni un nuovissimo modello di motore della GE Energy per la cogenerazione-fertilizzazione a CO2 sia stato installato in un super-serrone in Middenmeer, a nord dell’ Olanda. Il super-motore a gas pare abbia una efficienza dell’85%. Il surplus energetico verra’ immesso sulla rete locale e la CO2 generata sara’ usata come fertilizzante.beh, non e’ una grossa novita’ che le piante mangino CO2...mi resta il dubbio che sia energeticamente ed ecologicamente piu’ conveniente far crescere i pomodori quando e’ la loro stagione, e senza dover pompare gas naturale.
Non ce l’ho con l’Olanda...sto qui da 8 anni, a momenti ci scappa la radichetta!...parlo solo di quella realta’ (seppur limitata) in cui vivo...e forse proprio per questo comincio a preoccuparmi della “mia” Olanda...o almeno, quella che piace(rebbe) a me...e che non ha troppe serre. E' bello pero' sapere che cercano sempre di rendere questi serroni il piu' efficienti possibile...

Food miles are hot topic in Italy too, so they tell me. The idea of buying local products, helping the local producers and the environment (by cutting on CO2 emissions) at the same time is a good one.
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A damn good idea…especially for one like me, grown up “Heidi style” on the Prealps. Where I come from it’s not rare to find a bag full of lettuce hanging from your gate (clear sign that Nonna Giannina came by) or a parcel with eggs (that would be zia Anna, always too busy to stop)…a whole different dimension to life, one that here, as expat and quite isolated, I do miss. Maybe that’s why I get so excited at the idea of visiting farms and buying their cheese, getting eggs from the Kinderboerderij with MFSJ, or subscribing to Kievit in Katwijk (they deliver veggies and fruits from producer to consumer). It’s the “Heidi syndrome”, right?
But but…have you ever landed in Schiphol, at night? Then, if you were blessed with clear skies, you might have noticed something about the dutch landscape. It’s lit up. I’m not talking about roads and cities…I’m talking about little squares of light, whigh get bigger and bigger as the plane comes down. They become light cubes: they are greenhouses. Lit at night AND kept warm too (strawberries with anti-forst gene of fish origin DO NOT exist, like Mr Capanna would like us to believe, so strawberries need to be kept warm, ‘cause they don’t like cold weather). Then I start wondering how eco-friendly a 0 miles grocery bag might be…where are the CO2 costs for production? And the total cost? Another thing…how about coffee? To get an Italian espresso or a dutch koffie verkeerd I’ll have to grow my own coffee plant? How about tea? Do I need a Camelia sinensis next to the Ficus Benjamin? How about those Coffee growers on the other side of the world?
I have the feeling that the 0miles grocery bag is over-rated. It has its advantages: you discover local products, fresh products taste better (brussel sprouts eaten less than two hours from picking time are SWEET: did you know that?), you give a boost to the local economy…but the fact remains that production, transport and retailing all have a price: in London, a dutch rose costs 5 times more than one from Kenya, in terms of Co2 emissions, even if the latter has to fly 4000 miles. if you drive 10km only to buy some fruit, you'd be better off buying the one from Kenya yo ucan find in your local supermarket. finally, it's more eco-friendly to buy from a big producer than from a small one...unfortunately.
Can’t we go back to seasonal foods? I’d love it. But how to I explain to MFSJ that her “appol” (tomatoes or apples are all fall under the same category) won’t be there 365 days a year? MFJ was in mourning from the moment I said “no more tomatoes in December”, although he did perk up a little after I specified that I did not mean my mum’s tomato sauce and tinned tomatoes. Can I still find seasonal foods in this place infested with greenhouses?
It seems that GE Energy will be installing (or maybe has already done so) a new gas motor in a greenhouse north of Amsterdam, in Middenmeer. The new motor will be used for cogeneration-CO2 fertilization and has an efficiency of 85%. The energetic surplus will be feeded back into the local power network and the CO2 generated will be used as fertilizers for the crop. Well, it’s not big news that plants chew up our CO2…but right now I still think it might be better for the environment altogether if we let tomatoes to be grown when the time is right and without pumping out natural gas from the ground.
I am not having a go at Holland. I’ve been here for almost 8 years…if I am not too careful I might discover a root or two going down any moment!!! I am just talking about my (very limited) reality, and maybe I start worrying about “my” Holland, the one I’d like to see…and that does not include too many greenhouses…though it’s nice to know that they are trying to make them as energy-efficient as possible.
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5 commenti:

Thyra ha detto...

you are absolutely right that "0-mile food" is not always the most eco-friendly solution. Those greenhouse are real energy monsters. I have many times thought the same thing flying in to Holland. Aside from that, it can actually also be quite damaging to countries in the developing world who need those exports much more than we do.

Here in London it's all about "organic" food which -as a biologist yourself, I am sure you will agree- is also a rather odd label.

Buying seasonal is a start but most of us who grew up a little less like Heidi do not even know what the right season is anyway. :-) I find it all very difficult. Just once I had decided to try and buy only fair-trade I read an article in The Ecnomist how fair-trade can also have negative impacts on local farmers...sigh. We just can't seem to get it right.

manu ha detto...

it's very difficult to be "fair", isn't it? it's also very difficult to get hold of the right information!
btw: any chance you could find that article again?
As for seasonal food, Heidi here uses a british website!!! it's on the post...have a look.
The alternative would be to rent out an allotment and grow my own...another step into dutchness? I can JUST see MFJ's face...for now, my experiments on rucola and tomatoes are confined to the balcony...and will stay so for a while!

Thyra ha detto...

I tried to find the original article in fact when I wrote the comment but I am afraid it requires a subscription to access online and I threw out my paper copy... they regular feature articles on "ethical" shopping though.

I believe the logic was something along the lines of those small farmers who are NOT part of a fairtrade co-op losing out to their neighbours. Apparently it also causes price distortions though even after a year in management training I wouldn't be able to tell you exactly how (or just why that would be so bad). :-)

Neli ha detto...

About the allotment... I was considering the same thing for the future. It was a Jeroen's idea, and recently he started calling me "boerin". But it would be really great to grow your own vegetables and berries... lekker...
I saw on Bakker's website that they sell yellow courgettes, and would really like to try them!

manu ha detto...

NELI! Pity you live so far away...otherwise we could join efforts in the allotment-department! ;-)