This is "bitch slapping" "up-side yo face" presentation of tight logical thought on the subject of, "if'n you want the one, then logically you have to accept the other."

Oddly enough, the farm system as we know it is impossible without massive government subsidies. The interstate highway system, the Department of Agriculture, massive agricultural subsidies and tariffs, giant welfare queen agribusiness, and a blind eye to runoff pollution are all part of modern American agriculture.

If libertarians are just corporate apologists, all this makes sense. Sign me up for the Archer Daniels Midland PR campaign. If libertarians are interested in liberty, we're going to have to take modern agriculture to task.

Now, in many cases, this means that people can buy foods which have no local alternatives — I may not be getting the very best mangoes, but they're better than nothing.

On the other hand, locally grown tomatoes, plums, apples and peaches are much more flavorful than those imported from the far-reaches of the country. And, fresh-picked corn is a million times better than corn that was picked two days earlier.

Now, of course, the problem for the slow-foods folks is that these problems can be solved — 20 years ago, supermarket pineapples were bitter. Today, they're sweet, thanks to the development of the Golden Pineapple.

I doubt that. Environmentalists are still proclaiming the silliness that recycling paper saves trees.

January and February 2008 data indicate that Apple is now the largest retailer of music in the country. Its also the 7th largest internet retailer of any kind in the country http://www.internet retailer.com/top500/

As for the locovores… sooner or later they'll figure out that the carbon footprint of locally produced food can be just as high, if not higer than global food. When they do, I'll proudly proclaim that I supported the global food movement before it was all the rage with the neo hippies.

Apple is hardly an empire; their grasp on the computer market is still scant, and their grip of the digital music world is weak.

You're mistaking momentum for dominance.

Dominance is Microsoft Office, momentum is the iPod/iTunes.

Let the "go local" types have their fun. They're just doing the bidding of some brilliant marketer who wants to sell more California grapes at the expensive of foreign bananas. As for his new found locavore customers? A fool and his money… as they say. They'll change their tune when kids in Africa continue to starve because the "go local" crowd doesn't want them to have imported wheat.

While your suggestion of applying restrictions on non-local culture may seem clearly outrageous and to show up some of the silliness of the local food movement, I assure you they will take your ideas to heart, as proven by the situation in Canada.

Canadian law already puts numerous restrictions on broadcasters in order to ensure "Canadian content" and keep non-local content out.

For reference, here is Wikipedia's summary:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_content

Traditionally this has been done in the name of preserving Canadian culture and encouraging Canadian cultural producers…however, I am sure those involved would be delighted to add the excuse of "reducing carbon" to the list of justifications.