I’m not sure that generally holds true in Europe, tbh. Often, the local produce is more expensive because people will buy it out of local patriotism or a feeling that it is fresher or better. Imports from the Netherlands and Spain (who supply almost all of Europe’s greenhouse vegetables) are generally cheaper.
It’s a bit more nuanced in Norway, which has high tariffs on agricultural products to protect its own agricultural sector (unlike EU countries), but even with that, imports are almost always cheaper than local produce.
When I met my wife, who lived in New England, and she told me that they have lots of farms up here, especially dairy farms, I assumed that she meant this was where the polar cows live and ice cream comes from.
If you’re from a temperate region, it is a bit of a surprise that food can actually grow way up north, where it’s winter most of the year.
Now that I live here though, I get it. We have a couple nice tomato plants and a pepper plant growing. That we should be able to harvest before they’re buried under 3 feet of snow.
Most of the Australian population lives relatively close to the coast, as if you go further inland, everything is hostile. It sounds like a tropey-memey joke, but it is based in reality.
For example, there are approximately 439 rivers in the whole of Australia. In context, there are over 1,500 in the UK, a significantly smaller island.
You think of it as an ‘island’ too. I was so surprised when I learned that China teaches there are only 6 continents. (I wonder what they think about the newly discovered New Zealand continent?) In the States, we are taught that Australia is its own continent.
I guess it’s like Pluto: when is it a planet, or dwarf planet, or something else?
I mean, I was taught there are only six continents in school, but that’s because North and South America are clearly only one continent. I don’t know whether China does the same but it just makes sense.
It is because what constitutes a continent is based less on any sort of meaningful geography and more due to culture/political considerations. There is literally zero reason to consider Europe a seperate continent from Africa and Asia, other than because of Euro-centric supremacy. I’ve taken to calling it Afro-Eur-Asia in my classes when I teach the first section of US history, because those three places have had ongoing interactions for centuries now (hence shared immunity to particular diseases and centuries of trading).
It makes sense to me to separate Africa since it was on its own until recently. Eurasia, North America, South America, Africa, Antarctica, and Australia were all the big pieces of Pangaea – along with some smaller pieces like India and Madagascar – and that lines up so well with what gets called continents. The only catch is that the Middle East would properly go with Africa, which is why all the mountains are on the other side.
Of course, 30 million years ago probably doesn’t seem quite as recent when you’re teaching human history.
