Quoted for truth but the above statement always seems to get lost in belief shouting matches. I run into this all the time with people in my work with Food Everywhere: Houston. Some people demand everything be done caveman-style, others want ultra-technical mega-production. Both sides seem to forget that the program was started strictly to produce the most amount of food possible in a way that will work even when trucks don't.

Just to throw my 2-cents in. A big part of sustainable agriculture involves knowing what plants to grow in a particular location. Taken to extremes you end up with our current giant monoculture farms which are amazingly cost effective and energy effcient at this time. Houston's climate is not very good for apples but people expect to be able to buy apples so they are trucked in. If you want to stick to crops grown locally in a sustainable manner then you need to lower your expectations some about diversity of your food. Killing a bunch of your neighbors would also help.

-Blast