Food miles

A lot of the food found in shops and supermarkets has travelled a great distance. Whilst such transport allows us to enjoy a huge variety of food throughout the year, it also comes with high environmental costs.

Food miles measure the distance a food travels from farm to you, the consumer - whether by air, road, rail or water. They matter because such travel results in emissions of CO2 which contribute to climate change as well other forms of air pollution, congestion, accidents and noise.

Globalisation of the food industry, concentration of the food supply base, changes in delivery patterns and centralisation of sales in supermarkets have led to a significant rise in food miles.

Labelling on most foods will tell you the country of origin, although it can be difficult to distil such information for processed foods (such as ready meals) or get information on the whole distribution network.

Top tips

• Visit local shops to avoid creating your own food miles.
• Buy regional products or directly from producers to cut out lengthy distribution chains (e.g. at Farmers’ markets).
• Look for the British Tractor logo on meat products and check where your dairy comes from. Even familiar labels can come from overseas.
• Choose seasonal products when buying fruits, vegetables or flowers as they are unlikely to have been transported long distances or heated during production.
• Avoid air freight as this has a far bigger impact on the environment than sea or road travel has. Overseas products, such as fresh flowers and very perishable fruit and vegetables, will usually have been imported by plane.
• Buy unprocessed or lightly processed food as this will generally mean that less energy has been used in its production.
• Grow your own fruit and vegetables in your garden or allotment and herbs on a windowsill.