Dear Editor,

I try to be conscientious. I try to buy seasonal, locally grown produce. I don’t always succeed. I love blueberries (thawed frozen ones just aren’t the same) and asparagus (ditto). And, hey, Christmas isn’t Christmas without mandarin oranges. So, I confess, there are times when my principles fly out the window – along with my carbon footprints from the air transport.

That said, I’ve just seen a sign in the window of the Village Food Market which stopped me (and what now seems to be my comparatively modest carbon footprint) in my tracks: Navel oranges 99 cents a pound, grown in South Africa.

Are you kidding me? I don’t think it would be possible to fly produce further anywhere on the planet than from South Africa to British Columbia.