Exercise: Pros and Cons of Air Transport of Fruits and Vegetables QUESTION: Air transport is increasingly used to export types of fruits and vegetables to countries where those plants can’t grow or out of season. Some say it is a good thing, but others consider this use of air transport can’t be justified. Discuss both views and give your own opinion. ANSWER: Transport vegetables and fruits by air makes it possible that people enjoy foreign food. This technology is being increasingly used now. Some people believe this increase is beneficial to humanity, while others think it is unjustified. Those who are for this increase see the fact that it has remarkably improved food quality. Due to this increase, people now have a wider range of affordable options in food. This further leads to foreign dishes being adopted because of the availability of ingredients they need. Furthermore, some of the foreign dishes are adapted to cater to local people’s tastes and traditions, giving rise to hybrid cuisine with all merits in one. Additionally, because air transport is faster than traditional ways of transport, foreign fruits and vegetables are fresher than before. On the other hand, some people are against this trend for various reasons. First they worry that transferring foreign plants in a large quantity might cause a variety of problems to local biological environment. Seeds of foreign plants once accidently release into the environment might alter the genes of local wild plants, resulting in nasty weed that is stronger than indigenous plants. Similarly, foreign insects can bring about catastrophes to the environment too. Also, the transport might help to spread transmittable diseases. The other concern is that some people think it too luxurious to use aeroplanes to transport vegetables and fruits. They argue while millions of people cannot afford air travelling and have to bear the pain of traffic jam, it is a waste to use this precious resource only for the unessential improvement of food. To sum up, transport vegetables and fruits by air is considered by some people as beneficial to humankind, but is judged unjustified by others.