3rd June 2008
Food and Climate Change
In this section of our website we're hoping to provide you with some food for thought, facts and figures and inspiration to become active. There are lots of different ideas about what we need to do to stop catastrophic climate change. Here we present some of them in the hope to stimulate a productive debate about how a sustainable future might look.
Transport, food and climate change
Food miles
Compared with 2006, food air freight kilometres have increased by 31%. Food transport related CO2 overall has increased by 5%. -DEFRA report October 2007
Emissions from food transport are increasing all the time - from skies, to seas - our diets are destroying the planet. We continue to guzzle food from the other side of the world, often grown using fossil-fuel heavy processing. At the same time phrases such as 'food miles' and 'carbon footprint' are today's buzz words. But how much impact do they actually have?
According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs air-freighted food rose 31 per cent in the year to 2006. The 'organic' revolution in food production has brought many positive environmental benefits, but if the organic tomatoes you are eating have been flown in from Spain then clearly their carbon footprint needs consideration
'Local food' that is organically produced, seasonal and plant based is obviously the best way to minimise the impact of what you eat. But what does this mean? The 'local food' sector is forecasted to grow in value by 33% over the next five years. Following on from their foray into organic food, the big supermarkets are falling over themselves to develop 'local' sourcing policies, but this often means little more than 'from the United Kingdom'. Supermarket local sourcing policies are really aimed at increasing regional, rather than local, sourcing. One of Tesco's 'local products' is already performing so well that it is going national in 100 Tesco stores'. The supermarkets' local sourcing initiatives look more like exercises in finding new product lines for store shelves than true local sourcing.
Despite the rethoric, supermarkets continue to do business with their suppliers in a way that makes it impossible for them to deliver local food. Tim Lang, professor of food policy at City University, says, 'They are locked in to a trucking and packing system that they have invested millions in over the last 30 years. They would have to reinvest dramatically - moving from a few regional distribution centres to hundreds of more local ones - to become really local'.
Useful websites
Guardian article on ethical living
www.corporatewatch.org/
www.activeg.org/news/1529.html
www.biofuelwatch.org.uk
Food Miles study by The Independent
Food Commission Climate Update
www.fcrn.org.uk/researchLib/statistics.htm
Defra Food Transport Indicators