Einstein would be proud
Forget the organic claim and expand on the buy local frame of mind. These days some Americans are checking labels to make sure that what they are buying is, well, American. That means, according to these folks, that the product had to travel less miles around the globe and thus less carbon dioxide emissions were created.
Call me the party pooper but one should also make sure that land or air transportation within the U.S. is environmentally friendlier that shipping things in a huge boat. Because, truthfully, if long distance transportation is able to create less emission per item than short distance transportation (because you are dividing the emissions over a lot more items), then it’s not better to buy American stuff. Think about it like this: if you go to the supermarket in a car once a month and buy all your supplies for that month, you’ll cause less emissions than if you go in a motorcycle three times per week for a month.
Everything is relative these days.
P.S. I do prefer to buy American or European than from other continents because labor practices are usually better in the U.S. and Europe, although sometimes there are exceptions.
