The Food Miles vs. Life Cycle Evaluation False Choice

My father sent me the link to an editorial in the New York Times today: "Food That Travels Well"
I've read articles whose point is basically the same--that people raising lamb in New Zealand have a comparative advantage over lamb farmers in England because their pastures are so rich that they do not have to use additional feed, etc--thus we should buy our food from the corners of the globe where it is most efficient to produce, not from close to home. As if producing food anywhere other than where it grows best means that by default it requires more carbon-based inputs, which of course omits to entire notion of local organic food, which by definition does not use petroleum-based fertilizers.
This (il)logic drives me bonkers, to say the least. I'll be watching the NYTimes blog and letters to the editor to see what other people have to say about this one-sided piece.