Food movement 'harms environment'

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Food movement 'harms environment'

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joanne

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 7100
Location: Morecambe, Lancashire

Posted: Fri Jul 15, 05 7:16 am Post subject: Food movement 'harms environment'

The distribution of food across the UK in cars and lorries adds to pollution, congestion and climate change, a report by the government says.

It said the environmental cost of moving food was as much as ï¿½9bn a year, around half of it due to congestion.

The quantity of food moved by road has doubled since 1974, the report said.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs report said 25% of all miles covered by heavy goods traffic was to move food.

'Food miles' debate

And it showed consumers now travelled an average of 898 miles per year by car to shop for food.

Defra said the impact costs per year of food transportation break down as ï¿½5 billion due to road congestion, ï¿½2 billion due to road accidents, ï¿½1 billion due to pollution and ï¿½1 billion due to other factors.

The draft Food Industry Sustainability Strategy is part of a plan to help achieve a 20% reduction in the environmental and social costs of food transport by about 2012.

The report said the mode, timing, location and efficiency of food transport was as important as the distance covered.

Defra minister Lord Bach said: "This study is an interesting contribution to the 'food miles' debate.

Consumer 'pointers'

"It shows that the issue is complex and that a range of factors have an effect on the overall impacts of food transport, not purely the distance travelled by individual products.

"It provides some pointers for consumers. For example, internet buying and home delivery can cut vehicle kilometres and reduce road congestion."

Lord Bach said buying local products had the potential to reduce the distance covered, but that those benefits could be compromised if the methods of distribution were inefficient and caused congestion.

The report also suggests better monitoring of air transport of food, because it was more responsible for the highest carbon dioxide emissions per tonne of cargo and was the fastest-growing sector.

Story from BBC NEWS:
https://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/uk/4684693.stm

Jb

Joined: 08 Jun 2005
Posts: 7761
Location: 91ï¿½ N

Posted: Fri Jul 15, 05 8:49 am Post subject:

I read the subject line and was expecting that to be a controversial item about "the food movement" as in "the real / slow / local / etc. food movement" rather than the movement of food.

We try to buy local food whereever possible and so buy parmesan from the local farmers markets, this is parmesan which is made at a farm about 20 km from here. However we have now found that although they make it locally they ship it all the way to Italy, pack it and then ship it all the way back! Made 20km from here, travelled 2000 km!

jema
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28233
Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Fri Jul 15, 05 8:51 am Post subject:

JB wrote:

Is that a labeling thing I wonder? They can only call it parmesan if it "comes" from Italy.

I have read a lot of Beef is labeled Scottish is a similar underhand fashion.

Jb

Joined: 08 Jun 2005
Posts: 7761
Location: 91ï¿½ N

Posted: Fri Jul 15, 05 8:58 am Post subject:

jema wrote:

JB wrote:

We try to buy local food whereever possible and so buy parmesan from the local farmers markets, this is parmesan which is made at a farm about 20 km from here. However we have now found that although they make it locally they ship it all the way to Italy, pack it and then ship it all the way back! Made 20km from here, travelled 2000 km!

Is that a labeling thing I wonder? They can only call it parmesan if it "comes" from Italy.

No it's not to do with labelling. They don't call it parmesan on the packets, marketing or anything else but everyone buying it calls it parmesan. I asked them why when I was last at the farmer's market and it turns out the reason is twofold. The first reason is the people who turned the farm into a dairy had planning permission to build a dairy but not a packing plant so used their existing contacts / packing plant in Italy. The second reason is that they sell most of their "parmesan" in Italy. Much as I don't like the unnecessary shipping of food there's a certain appeal to the fact that Britain exports parmesan to Italy!

Behemoth

Joined: 01 Dec 2004
Posts: 19023
Location: Leeds

Posted: Fri Jul 15, 05 11:13 am Post subject:
Here's a link to the report: https://statistics.defra.gov.uk/esg/reports/foodmiles/default.asp

mochyn

Joined: 21 Dec 2004
Posts: 24585
Location: mid-Wales

Posted: Fri Jul 15, 05 7:17 pm Post subject:
I work part time in a veg/wholefood shop in Llanfyllin, 7.5 miles from home. I bring an order for a freind here each week, cutting 15 miles off his weekly car usage: a small contribution, but if everyone could do something like that...

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