Excellent article Valerie Yule.Also note that the shipping industry puts out far more toxic pollutants than all the cars and trucks on the planet.

If we made more things at home,we'd save fuel and reduce the world's pollution dramaticly.

Does it matter where something comes from, it is not law to bye it.
Be AU and bye AU.

Good article :
“But people laugh because they can buy cheaper shoes, clothes, chemicals and furnishings from overseas. They do not consider that the cost of freight and of overseas goods will be higher in the future. They do not consider how the former workers will be unemployed”

But people will not be laughing, when peak oil pushes the price of all imports up, as it most surely will.
Will our ability to manufacture these items ourselves be lost by then?
Our ability to feed ourselves will also be lost as our farming is displaced by cheap imports.
Still we will have huge holes in the ground where are minerals were. We can maybe show them to tourists for a living.

So Valerie, next time I need a lemon, rather then spend 80c,
do you think I should go hunting around suburbs to see who might
have a lemon tree? What would that cost me?

Dear Yabby
The shops could sell local lemons, or at least Australian

Dear Ozideas, they probably would, if they were available and
somebody formed a supply chain and supplied them to a certain
quality specification. Its not up to the shops to go and pick them
and form that supply chain, so the point about some lemons on
backyard trees was all about feelgood, not about any kind of
reasoned thinking.

America actually buys quite alot of agricultural products from
us. They buy huge volumes of lean beef, they are our first or
second largest customer of lamb, they buy large volumes of our
wine. So why should I not buy one of their lemons occasionally,
if none are available locally? Coles and Woolies do in fact prefer
to buy locally, but things like lemons need to be available all
year around, not just sometimes or on the backyard trees.

Years ago the farmers in our 'food belt' ploughed their orange trees into the earth because of cheap imports (the BIG supermarkets were importing USA oranges and selling at less than the Aussie farmer could produce them). Arnotts biscuits were bought out by a multi-national. I do NOT buy fruit/veg that is labeled 'Made/grown in USA' or China. I have a small vegie patch and friends have orange/lemon/lime trees so I don't buy them. As I have stated, I will not buy fruit or veg that is imported, especially from USA or China.

I have the feeling our politicians have really sold us out with the 'Free Trade' deals. The frightening thought being that one day they (the politicians) will only have us the people to give away. Not a pleasant thought.

Valerie,

There is either free trade, or there is not. Origin has some influence over purchasing decisions, but only a small one. Forcing buying decisions by legislation is considered a trade barrier.

and here in the Philippines we get 'raisins' imported all the way from California, and also navel oranges from California, but Australia's a lot closer but usually ignored except for its milk, meat and oatmeal (Australian Harvest'). Don't ask for vegemite either, they wouldn't know what you're talking about! Probably because there are such few Australian expats living up here.

Supermarkets will also buy where things are the cheapest while transport costs are low. Things won’t change until long distance transport becomes very expensive which will inevitably happen as Peak Oil takes effect and high oil prices kicks in. Obviously oil is currently too cheap if it makes financial sense to ship a lemon in from the USA.

Here in Tasmania we have one huge lettuce grower who provides lettuces right around Australia for the two (or should I say too?) big supermarkets. Yes, we are growing lettuces in Tasmania and then trucking them to West Australia. Go figure.

Steven French

Valerie,
Great article. The definition of "free" in "free trade" is subjectively based on the side which yields the greatest power. That isn’t Australia.
Australia and indeed the worlds greatest problem with food is not the growing or the selling. It’s the bit in the middle called distribution. The people that control it are the one’s who own the supermarkets. There are huge levels of needless waste associated with distribution.
See:
http://12.000.scripts.mit.edu/mission2014/problems/inadequate-food-distribution-systems
http://www.siwi.org/documents/Resources/Papers/Paper_13_Field_to_Fork.pdf