'Only 2%' of impact due to transport from farm to shop
Posted by Susan Ponsolle on 06-04-07Consumers need more information about the environmental impact of the food in their shopping basket if they are to make eco-friendly choices, according to researchers who have carried out a detailed analysis of the ecological costs associated with food. They argue that the focus on "food miles" is missing the bigger picture and may be counter-productive.
Food stores such as Tesco and Marks & Spencer have said that they will label products that have been transported by air. But according to the researchers, only around 2% of the environmental impact of food comes from transporting it from farm to shop. The vast majority of its ecological footprint comes from food processing, storage, packaging and growing conditions. So food grown locally could have a considerably bigger footprint than food flown halfway around the world, and consumers who make their choices on air miles alone may be doing more environmental harm, according to the scientists.
"I'm a bit worried about the food miles [debate] because it is educating the consumer in the wrong way. It is such an insignificant point," said Ruth Fairchild at the University of Wales Institute in Cardiff. "Those [foods] could have been produced using pesticides that have travelled all the way around the world. If you just take food miles, it is the tiny bit on the end."
A better system, she argues, would be one that considers all environmental impacts from farm to dinner plate. One option is ecological footprint analysis, which takes into account the amount of land needed to provide the resources to produce food, both directly on the farm and indirectly from the energy that goes into growing, harvesting, processing, packaging and transporting it. A food's impact is measured in "global hectares", the notional land area needed to produce it. But she thinks that consumers are not yet ready for ecological footprint labelling and the science behind it is not yet watertight.
To help confused consumers, Dr Fairchild and colleague Andrea Collins at Cardiff University have used the ecological footprint concept to develop a set of eco-diets designed to minimise the impact of food consumption on the planet. Sticking to the diets does not mean eating lentils all day, but the most eco-friendly diet excludes wine, spirits, chocolate, ice cream and most meat.
To see their suggested diet, visit this website.
Source: James Randerson, science correspondent - The Guardian
Write a comment