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FOOD MILES - “TOO MUCH FOOD IS TRANSPORTED OVER LONG DISTANCES FROM ABROAD, WHICH MAKES A BIG CONTRIBUTION TO CARBON EMISSIONS GLOBALLY AND IS ALL ABOUT MAKING BIG PROFITS THROUGH SOURCING CHEAPLY”
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 | Transport is essential to providing high quality, fresh, affordable food. |
| 'Food miles' is now widely regarded, including by Defra, as a simplistic and misleading way to measure the environmental impact of food distribution. Efficient distribution chains, moving large volumes and making full use of vehicles can be less damaging than multiple small-volume movements of food over shorter distances, a point made in the Transport 2000 report Wise Moves. |
| 'Food miles' also ignore the wider consideration of the impact of the whole supply chain. It may be less damaging to the environment to import produce than grow it in heated conditions in this country e.g. less energy is used importing tomatoes from Spain or the Channel Islands than growing them in a heated greenhouse in the UK. |
| Consumers want to be able to buy a wide range of produce all year round. That means importing produce that can't be grown here and to make up seasonal shortfalls. |
| UK retailers are huge supporters of UK agriculture. 75 per cent of fresh food sold in UK stores is raised or grown in the UK. Of the quarter that's imported, only 1 per cent is flown in - meaning that, of all the fresh food on sale in stores, only a quarter of one per cent has been flown in. Air is much more expensive than land or sea transport and only used for short-life, high-value produce. |
| Air freight opens up our high value market to exporters from developing countries, making a contribution to their prosperity and living standards. |
| There is no formal definition of 'local' food, and customer perception of 'local' will vary with region and product. Retailers increasingly label where in the UK food has been produced and promote it in those regions. British produce is clearly labelled 'British' and extensively sold, particularly when in season - major retailers sell 100% British eggs, 96% carrots and 100% conventional milk. Customers looking for British produce will have no trouble finding it. |
| Retailers are working closely with smaller producers to increase their access to major retailers. The BRC has worked with Defra and the NFU to create a scheme that increases that access. |
| All retailers continue to improve the efficiency of their distribution, introducing improving their environmental performance through better use of transport, local hubs, lower emission vehicles and bio-fuels. |
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