Shortening the food chain

"A road map of how to move to a sustainable food system." High praise, in an aptly chosen phrase, for a report taking issue with the way we are madly clocking up the ‘food miles’, to feed ourselves in the way we have come to see as ‘normal’.

The quote comes from Green MEP Caroline Lucas, while the report it commends is by Sustain and Elm Farm Research Centre (EFRC). Eating Oil: Food supply in a changing climate examines how far our food travels, and our dependency on imports and fossil fuels to produce it, process, package and distribute it. In a vivid illustration, Eating Oil calculates that the ingredients in your festive meal at Christmas could have clocked up over 24,000 miles of travel, if they were bought at a typical supermarket and included many imported items. On the other hand, Sustain calculates, "choosing seasonal products and purchasing them locally at a farmers’ market could reduce the total distance to 376 miles."

The report’s author, Andy Jones, argues strongly that we must "invest, now, in regional and local food systems combined with fair trade initiatives that will bring about a more secure, sustainable and fair food system".

Because the present system is almost completely dependent on crude oil, says Jones, "food supplies are vulnerable to increases in petroleum prices or any shortfall in oil supplies. Food distribution is also a major contributor to climate change and other forms of pollution." Other problems are loss of nutrients in food, and increased incidence and spread of disease. Problems for poor countries are often exacerbated rather than relieved by increased production for export. The report reveals how such trends could be reversed through industry, government and public action.

Unpalatable truth

In the UK, the distance that food is transported by road increased by 50% between 1978 and 1999. The food system now accounts for between a third and 40% of all UK road freight.

Airfreight of food into the UK doubled between 1989 and 1999.

For every calorie of carrot, flown in from South Africa we use 66 calories of fuel.

Imports of organic food are being sucked in to fill the gap between huge domestic demand and inadequate supply. One shopping basket of 26 imported organic products could have travelled 150,000 miles.

Food security is also threatened. Of every 100 fruit products purchased, only 5 will have been grown in the UK.

12 December 2001