1) Katherine
Spriggs has convinced me that this is a topic of importance. The author stated many valid reasons as to
why buying local is better for the environment, more cost effective, and is
smarter economically. She establishes the importance of her topic by providing
readers with the “if we don’t do this, then this will be the outcome” kind of
reasoning. For many Americans this is the kind of wake-up call needed in order to
solve these kinds of issues.
2) Spriggs
considers several counterarguments to her statements. These include that buying
local can have negative environmental effects. One source states that trying to
grow food all around the world would be a waste of time and energy. Spriggs
replies with “Buying local should instead focus on buying as much as possible
from nearby farmers.” Another argument; buying local will be detrimental to the
environment because small farms are not as efficient in their use of resources
as large farms. Spriggs counters this argument by stating that “This is a
common misconception and actually depends on how economists measure efficiency.
3) I
found the beginning portion of Katherine Sprigg’s essay especially effective.
She opened with a striking statement about how it’s basically a luxury that we
Americans can for the most part eat any fruit, any time of the year,
anywhere. She then dives into the
importance of why that is so wrong, and how harmful it is to the environment
and a bit of the economy. She also then begins to explain her main points on
why buying local is so important.
4) The
photos Spriggs includes in her essay provide an excellent visual to small
monoculture farms vs. large ones. The argument about cost of transportation is
included, as well as a counterargument about how large farms are more efficient
in the total output of one crop per acre.
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