Eco-friendly?

I had another interesting conversation with the same friend today at school, this time about organic and environmentally friendly food. It is interesting to note that a lot of what we consider environmentally friendly really isn’t, and things like genetic engineering are really much more in line with the ultimate goals of the “green” movement. My feeling is that humans have for a long time been practicing ways of growing food more efficiently, and getting the end product they wanted, be it a more hardy organism, one that produces better or more fruit, one that consumes less resources, or whatever. Genetic engineering is no different in its intent or function than these practices, it is just more severe. A good analogy is the atomic bomb. It has the same function as conventional incendiary explosives, differing only in its magnitude. The magnitude of control with genetic engineering is far greater than existing techniques, meaning that the potential to damage ecosystems and such is similarly amplified. Therefore, an equivalent amount of increase in research and consumer protection is also required. But this is not an essential or inherent difference, just an effective one.
The key to real environmental friendliness is locality. We should be consuming food that we can grow ourselves or buy from the immediate area. Buying bananas or other such seasonal fruit at this time of year, even organic ones, requires that the be shipped up from tropical climates, consuming vast amounts of fossil fuels and resources. Whatever environmental benefit we may derive from their organic production is far outweighed by these liabilities.
I think that the environmental movement has some serious thinking to do about its future. I personally am not as responsible as I could or should be when it comes to this kind of choice. No one is. But I do think that we need some kind of leadership overall on how to best protect the environment. Fossil fuels are they key. I hope that the incoming administration and Congress make this a priority. There is potential for real change.