Food Miles By Armaan Bhatti & Ahmed Gokal

What is it?  Food miles is a term which refers to the distance food is transported from the time of its production until it reaches the consumer

How is it calculated?  With processed foods that are made of many different ingredients, it is very complicated, though not impossible, to calculate the CO2 emissions from transport by multiplying the distance travelled of each ingredient, by the carbon intensity of the mode of transport (air, road or rail).

Controversies  According to Oxfam researchers, there are many other aspects of the agricultural processing and the food supply chain that also contribute to greenhouse gas emissions which are not taken into account by simple "food miles" measurements  Researchers say a more complete environmental assessment of food that consumers buy needs to take into account how the food has been produced and what energy used in production.

Controversies…  A recent DEFRA case study indicated that tomatoes grown in Spain and transported to the United Kingdom may have a lower carbon footprint in terms of energy efficiency than tomatoes grown in heated greenhouses in the United Kingdom

Case Study: Kenya, 2006  Soil Association launched a consultation to tackle the environmental impact of air freighting organic foods.  Air freight is the fastest growing form of food transport but it emits more greenhouse gases per food mile than any other transport mode  Debate attended by Tesco, Agriculture Minister and other participants

Case Study: Kenya  The Soil Association Standards Board considered the following five possible options:  Take no action  A general ban  A selective ban (i.e. with exemptions, introduced over a number of years)  Labelling air freight Carbon offsetting

Case Study: Kenya  Impact of the ban- Economic:  In 2006, Kenya’s horticultural exports (both fresh and processed) were worth € 530 million  More than 95 % of Kenyan exports go to the EU.