Ethically flawless tomatoes are difficult to find
Ethical consumerism is easy to support in spirit, but hard to carry out in practice. Of the European tomatoes, the Finnish organic winter tomato is surprisingly the climate enemy #1.
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By Tanja Vasama
Well, one cannot honestly complain about the lack of choice.
There are various colours, shapes and sizes: yellow, red, organic, plum, mini-plum, cherry, regular, on the stem or without.
But there is something wrong with all of them.
The biggest problem is not the price, though that, too, is a cause for grumbling. At the highest EUR 18 per kilogram. Eighteen euros, that's more than 100 of the old markka! For tomatoes!
And we can draw a veil for the moment over the bitter taste, as well.
There is another kind of flaw here.
Namely, the production of tomatoes seems to come with gloomy consequences either to the environment or to people.
Tomatoes seem to be downright sinful.
Today’s grocery shopping is a bit like voting. When food is no longer just a necessary source of nourishment, it has taken on entirely new meanings. Sociologists word the phenomenon elegantly: post-modern man uses it to build his identity, and to express his values and political views.
Politics doesn't really interest people these days, but consumerism certainly does.
Ballot-boxes one can approach only every so often, whereas with one’s purse one can express opinions every week.
The content of one’s shopping basket quite concretely speaks volumes of one’s set of values.
If one cares for the environment, one buys organic.
If one wants to ensure the farmers get a decent compensation for their efforts, one goes down the fair trade path.
If one opposes the supremacy of multinational organisations, one favours local produce.
In principle, all very simple, no?
The practical side of things can be a different matter, though.
For example from the climate point of view, locally produced food may not necessarily be a better alternative than imported food.
Researchers also argue over whether biodynamic production is best for the environment after all.
With most plants, organic production methods lead to smaller yields than what could be achieved through ordinary cultivation.
Hence the same amount of produce calls for larger acreages, and can lead to larger eutrophication footprints per product.
On the other hand, organic farming is better from the points of view of biodiversity and abandoning the use of pesticides.
“From the sustainable development point of view to compare regular and organic farming is a political and esteem question”, says senior researcher Juha-Matti Katajajuuri of MTT Agrifood Research Finland. “If needed one can derive either answer from the conducted studies.”
There are disputes even over the benefits of fair trade.
According to critics, the system for example promotes and upholds the overproduction of coffee.
Of grocery items, in tomatoes in particular there are huge differences from the sustainable development point of view.
It entirely depends on one’s own value system, which bearings one ends up emphasising.
Production in the north leads to considerable carbon dioxide emissions in the winter months, for producing domestically-grown tomatoes in Finnish greenhouses surrounded by metre-high snowdrifts eats enormous amounts of energy.
The carbon footprint of winter tomatoes produced in Finland is ten times higher than that of tomatoes imported from Spain. For organically produced tomatoes, the differential is even greater.
The carbon footprint of domestic winter tomatoes could be reduced to a tenth of what it is now if the farms introduced the use of green electricity and started producing their heat through bioenergy.
But even the Spanish tomatoes - looking good a second ago - cannot be declared environmentally friendly.
In the hot and barren landscape the problems lie elsewhere. Further headache is caused by the much talked-about poor living conditions of the imported migrant workers.
What about tomatoes from Israel? Especially during the January war in Gaza many surely contemplated whether buying from Israel is such a good idea.
A couple of peace organisations called for supermarket chains to boycott products from Israel.
Still, the war failed to have any kind of effect on the sales of Israeli tomatoes in Finland.
It is easy to get on the bandwagon of supporting ethical consumerism.
“It is one of those identity projects: one desires to be a decent human being. But when you are in a shop another reality is that you have a limited budget to buy food for your children, or a limited amount of time to run around looking for ecological alternatives”, says professor Johanna Moisander of the Helsinki School of Economics, who has examined green consumerism.
But how much of an influence do an individual’s consumer choices ultimately have?
None really, says Moisander.
“The central organsations of the big store chains have a considerable say in this system. It would make much more sense if people who work in large companies making decisions there were to exercise their power there and then and vote according to their convictions when deciding over the company’s use of money.”
Juha-Matti Katajajuuri, who has specialised in evaluating environmental impacts, still urges people to use their head when buying things.
“When making a one-off decision regarding buying an individual product, the absolute impact of that is minimal. However, if one continues to weight options here and there when making purchases, and if many people do the same thing, the outcome may well be the most efficient way of reducing greenhouse gases in our society.“
But let us get back to the tomatoes. Should we not buy any tomatoes, if there is something wrong with all the options on the spring shelves?
Not necessarily a bad decision.
But... on the other hand: one person’s shopping boycott does not make a whole load of difference.
And if one is prepared to put up with the climate effects, the Finnish tomatoes are a pretty solid alternative.
Or is it still a better option that during these economically trying times an African migrant worker gets at least some kind of work in Spain?
At least Inex Partners, which represents the S-Group, insists that because Almeria - the area where the tomatoes originate from - is classified as a risk region, the labourers' working conditions are followed more closely than usual.
Difficult choices for a consumer.
Fortunately the summer is almost here.
At least then even Finnish tomatoes can be grown without enormous heating and lighting bills.
Finnish summer tomatoes can be enjoyed without anyone having to feel overly guilty.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 19.4.2009
TANJA VASAMA / Helsingin Sanomat
tanja.vasama@hs.fi
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| 21.4.2009 - THIS WEEK |
 Ethically flawless tomatoes are difficult to find |
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