Cambridge 19 Writing Task 2 Test 4 - Sample Answers (Band 9 to 4-5)

Modern supermarkets now routinely stock food imported from every corner of the globe, and while this offers genuine benefits to consumers, I believe the environmental costs of this development make it, on balance, a negative one.

There are clear benefits to this global food trade. Consumers now enjoy access to a far greater variety of foods year-round than would be possible if they relied solely on local, seasonal produce, and this global competition among food producers has often helped keep prices lower than they would otherwise be, benefiting household budgets, particularly in wealthier importing countries.

However, I believe the environmental cost of this convenience is substantial and frequently overlooked. Transporting food vast distances, often by air freight for perishable items, generates considerable carbon emissions that contribute directly to climate change, and this environmental cost is rarely reflected in the price consumers actually pay at checkout. Additionally, this global food system can undermine local agriculture in importing countries, as cheaper imported alternatives sometimes make it economically difficult for local farmers to compete, potentially threatening food security and rural livelihoods in the long term.

That said, this is not an inherent flaw of global trade itself but rather a consequence of how it is currently conducted; improvements such as more efficient shipping methods, stricter carbon pricing on imported goods, or a stronger consumer preference for genuinely seasonal, local produce when reasonably available could substantially reduce these environmental costs while still preserving many of global trade's genuine consumer benefits.

In conclusion, while global food trade offers real benefits in terms of variety and affordability, I believe its environmental costs currently make it, on balance, a negative development, though this could change considerably with more sustainable trade practices.

Modern supermarkets now stock food imported from all over the world, and while this brings real benefits to consumers, I believe the environmental costs make it, overall, a negative development.

There are clear benefits to this. Consumers can now access a much wider variety of foods all year round than they could if they only ate local, seasonal produce, and competition among global food producers has often helped keep prices lower, which benefits household budgets.

However, I believe the environmental cost is significant and often overlooked. Transporting food long distances, sometimes by air for foods that spoil quickly, produces a lot of carbon emissions that contribute to climate change, and this cost is not usually reflected in the price consumers pay. This global system can also make it harder for local farmers to compete with cheaper imported food, which can threaten local farming in the long run.

That said, this is not an unavoidable problem with global trade itself, but rather how it is currently done. Improvements such as more efficient shipping or people choosing more local, seasonal food when possible could reduce these environmental costs while keeping many of the benefits.

In conclusion, while global food trade offers real benefits in variety and price, I believe its environmental costs currently make it a negative development overall, although this could improve with more sustainable practices. Consumers themselves could also help by choosing local, seasonal food more often when it is genuinely available, rather than automatically reaching for imported alternatives out of habit.

Nowadays, supermarkets sell food from all over the world. I think this is mostly a negative development.

There are some benefits to this. People can buy many different kinds of food all year round, and competition between countries can help keep prices lower for shoppers.

However, I think this causes environmental problems. Transporting food long distances, sometimes by plane, creates a lot of pollution that contributes to climate change. This can also make it hard for local farmers to compete with cheaper food from other countries.

This does not mean global food trade is always bad. If shipping became more efficient, or if people bought more local food when possible, this could reduce the environmental damage.

In conclusion, I think buying food from around the world has some benefits, but the environmental cost makes it mostly a negative development overall. Consumers themselves also have a role to play in reducing this problem, since choosing local and seasonal food when it is genuinely available can help reduce the amount of food that needs to travel long distances. Supermarkets could also help by clearly labelling where each product comes from, so that customers who care about the environment can make more informed choices when they shop, rather than simply assuming that all imported food has the same environmental cost regardless of how far it has actually travelled or how it was transported to reach the shelf. Governments could also support these efforts through policies that reward retailers for sourcing food more sustainably.

Nowadays, supermarket sell food from all over the world. I think this is mostly negative development.

There is some benefit to this. People can buy many different kind of food all year round, and competition between country can help keep price lower for shopper.

However, I think this cause environmental problem. Transporting food long distance, sometimes by plane, create a lot of pollution that contribute to climate change. This can also make it hard for local farmer to compete with cheaper food from other country.

This does not mean global food trade is always bad. If shipping become more efficient, or if people buy more local food when possible, this could reduce the environmental damage.

In conclusion, I think buying food from around the world has some benefit, but the environmental cost make it mostly negative development overall. Consumer themselves also have a role to play in reducing this problem, since choosing local and seasonal food when it is genuinely available can help reduce the amount of food that need to travel long distance. Supermarket could also help by clearly labelling where each product come from, so that customer who care about the environment can make more informed choice when they shop, rather than simply assuming that all imported food has the same environmental cost regardless of how far it has actually travel or how it was transported to reach the shelf. Government could also support this effort through national policy that reward retailer for sourcing food more sustainably overall.