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What does “local” mean? And is it really better?

Robyn Metcalfe New Food Economy
To understand the complex question of whether long or short food sup­ply chains are better for us and the environment, we need to settle on a way to measure distance
We consumers think that long distance travel for food must cost more, damage the food, require chemicals to extend shelf life, and consume fossil fuels that end up polluting our environment. But is this really true?

Useful Enemies

Christopher de Bellaigue The Guardian
This book examines the influence Islam had on European political thought between the 15th to the 18th centuries, as well as the complex relations between the Ottoman Empire and emergent modern Europe during that era.

Path to Migration

Joseph Zaccardi A Wolf Stands Alone in Water
“When a thought from the past fires the soul,” writes the poet Joseph Zaccardi of a wartime memory, “time is no more.” And yet it clings to the present.

No Waverers Allowed: Looking Back on The Northern Ireland "Troubles."

Clair Wills London Review of Books
The reprinting of a classic book on the Northern Irish "Troubles" of 50 years ago is the occasion for a relook at warring nationalisms, armed violence and ethnic oppression that divided a population, leaving capital and British imperialism unscathed.