Agriculture

Food Miles: Here is how we can reduce them

Small efforts like reducing personal vehicular use for buying groceries, eating at farm-to-fork restaurants or growing one’s own vegetable garden can go a long way in controlling carbon emissions

 
By Ridham Bassi
Published: Monday 15 November 2021
Transporting avocados across the world from where they are cultivated causes a large number of carbon emissions. Photo: istock

In today’s age, the idea of seasonal fruits and vegetables has become dated. We, as consumers, are experiencing the taste of every season all year round. We are savouring the exotic foods that find their way into our homes at the click of a button.

The trend of eating locally produced, seasonal foods that our previous generations swore by, has been discarded by most of us.

Sadly, these out-of-season foods are actually harvested early in their production cycle to be shipped and distributed to our local grocery stores. Not only does this compromise on the flavour, but even the taste and nutritional value of perishable items goes down as they travel miles across countries.

Apart from the reduced taste and lost nutritional value, these choices also play a significant role in our overall carbon footprint. Have you ever wondered about the distance these foods travel from farm to your plate or what is being termed ‘Food Miles’?

These exotic avocados, imported coffee, tropical passion fruits and the rare varieties of berries that reach our plates, have a severe impact on the planet.

Transportation of food is costing us more than ever before. It is the cost of climate change, resource depletion, and ultimately human health. 

Food miles, a concept from the 1990s, is gaining more attention today, especially in western countries. Food miles are calculated as the distance travelled by any food before it reaches your plate.

As transportation increases, carbon dioxide emissions also go up, leading to a rise in global warming. The transportation of food is about 12 per cent of the carbon cost of the food we eat. According to research, foods with lesser food miles are better for human health as well as the environment.

‘Food miles’ is an important tool to assess and identify the sustainability of food production and consumption. It is measured in tonne-kilometres, calculated by multiplying the weight of food items in tonnes by the distance travelled in kilometres.

But calculating food miles can often be tricky as it can be easily overestimated. This is because sea or air transport usually carries more than the food items for which food miles are being calculated.

It is also important to understand the mode of transport for moving food. Road, air, rail and sea all contribute differently in the overall transport carbon emission — 60 per cent, 20 per cent, 10 per cent and 10 per cent respectively. Food transported via express fast air routes can have a 50 times higher carbon footprint than transporting food slowly via sea. 

With consumers expecting to be able to shop all types of produce regardless of the seasonality or the origin of the food, supply chains are also meeting this demand by shipping food from all across the world.

The globalisation of the food industry, the innovation in transport and the development of more sophisticated distribution channels have together greatly contributed to the increase in imports and exports, thereby shooting up food miles and affecting the planet on many levels: 

  • Environmental impact: The emission of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide caused due to increased fuel consumption during food transportation contributes significantly to air pollution. 
  • Social impact: With the affected air quality, human health and quality of life is greatly impacted.
  • Economic impact: Food transportation also causes congestion and damage to road infrastructure, which can bring additional costs.  

Reducing your food miles

What all of us need to realise is that our current food systems are not sustainable in the long run. At no point in history have we known less about the food we are eating.

As consumers, we must demand greater transparency on the source of our food, the farms where it was produced and the methods of production. This would help us avoid making choices that contribute to our carbon footprint whether in production, transportation or even refrigeration of food.

With the onslaught of the pandemic and the rising focus on health and well-being, there has been a shift in thinking as consumers are more concerned about their food choices.

Businesses are also responding to this shift by creating local food networks that bring fresh food and greater transparency for consumers.

One such platform that has emerged during the pandemic times is Farmsnation, an agritech start up that allows customers to discover and buy fresh farm produce directly from farmers in their area.

Not only is the app promoting the concept of locally grown fruits and vegetables, but they place special emphasis on allowing customers to know the name of the farmer they are buying from, his values and how he produces the food.

Whether we choose convenience in the form of an app-based local farmers’ market or if we choose to experience the feeling of visiting a farmers’ market, the aim should be to make sustainable choices by reducing our food miles.

Even little efforts like reducing personal car transportation for buying groceries or eating at farm-to-fork restaurants or even growing your own vegetable garden can go a long way in controlling carbon emissions.

So the next time you indulge in shopping exotic, imported foods, just take a moment and think about your food miles. The closer you stay to your food, the better it is for you, the local producers and the environment.

Ridham Bassi is Marketing Coordinator at Farmsnation

Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth

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