How green are our bananas?

I find myself to be a bit of a wet environmentalist, in the sense that the issues are actually sufficiently complex that desirable actions can work against each other, so we have to make a decision based on the best we can know. And it's interesting to see this kind of thing flagged up by the Co-op supermarket as they go to consult their customers, who are often, like me, members/shareholders (that being the point of a co-op). See here:

Paul Monaghan, the Co-Op's head of ethics, who designed the survey, pinpointed the new aeroplane stickers used on air-freighted exotic fruit and flowers, recently introduced by Marks & Spencer and Tesco, as a key example of the sort of 'lazy thinking' the Co-op wanted its shoppers to understand, and which the retailer would never support because of the detrimental effect on growers and farmers in less developed countries. 'The drive to reduce 'food miles' and reduce carbon dioxide could have real social impacts on third world growers as supply chains are redirected more locally,' he said. 'The carbon produced by Kenyan roses is a fifth of that used to grow Dutch roses because of the heating and lighting.'

It's not just localism, though that can be important, it's not just development and fair trade, it's trying to balance all these things before God. It's the region of Wisdom, that art of understanding not just facts but having a sense of how best or better to act upon them and having the humility to be corrigible.
Reading the following made me proud to be a member of the co-op (even if they won't take me divi card in Scotland):

The Co-op has a history of leading the debates on how retailers should address ethical trading and their environmental impact. It was the first major retailer to champion the Fairtrade label, when it put Cafédirect coffee on its shelves in 1992, and introduced the UK's first Fairtrade bananas in 2000. It still claims to sell a wider range of Fairtrade goods than any other retailer.

Anyway, it'll be interesting to see what the survey comes up with. Watch this space, well, this blog anyhow.
How green do you want your bananas? Co-op ballots members on ethical issues | Environment | The Guardian: