Canadas import food miles is over 61 billion tonnes km, generating 3. The report consisted of the highlights of the hidden ecological, social and economic consequences of food production to consumers show more content. Food miles the international debate and implications for. Food is being transported longer and longer distances food miles from producer to consumer.
In the next section, an illustrative example analysing apple transport and production, is used to clarify the different concepts. Professor tim lang at the sustainable agriculture food and environment safe was the person behind conceiving the food miles, which appeared in a report the food miles report. Because most transportation worldwide is fossil fuelbased, the distance that food travels before it reaches your plate, an average of 1,500 miles, also contributes to its carbon footprint. Food miles have risen dramatically over the past 10 years, are still rising, and have a significant impact on climate change, traffic congestion, accidents and. Therefore the solution proposed by food miles campaigners is to source food from as close to where it will be finally consumed as possible. Food miles is the distance food is transported from the time of its making until it reaches the consumer. The study traced and documented the food miles and co 2 emissions related to more than million tonnes of food commodities imported by canada in 2006. This activity is in two parts, one for pupils to complete at home individually and one to complete as a class or in small teams at school. Additional resources and features associated with this. Food miles the distance food travels from farm to consumer 9 calculating food miles for table grapes using a weighted average using the wasd to calculate food miles for produce arriving at the chicago. Overall imports of food have increased by 10% since 1961 from 25 million tonnes to 28 million tonnes in 2000, but for some food types the increase has been more dramatic. The report stated, the rise in food miles has led to increases in the environmental, social and economic burdens associated with transport. Phase i of the project has been commissioned to biointelligence service, france.
Full text of defra food miles report internet archive. The national government has set a target of a reduction of food miles in britain by 20 per cent by 2012. Food miles is used throughout the report, in keeping with global dialogue on this topic. The information, it said, would go beyond the mere question of food miles how far the produce has been transported to include indirect greenhouse emissions given off during its production and. Jul, 2008 small changes in dietary habits can have significant environmental impacts, they report. The source of this figure is almost never given, however, and indeed, it is a figure with surprisingly little grounding. Food miles are important because they provide a metric that can help guide you when making decisions in a very confusing area, or several related areas that are hard to think about. Food miles is a term commonly used to measure the transport distance. It makes recommendations for how food systems can be made more productive, nutritious, and sustainable. Small changes in dietary habits can have significant environmental impacts, they report. Road user charging would make the food processing industry think very carefully about their transport needs. This activity looks at the food we eat and where it comes from, providing a basis for looking at how much energy goes into getting our food from a to b, and exploring how this might be reduced. Food miles is one important part of a larger complete lifecycle assessment required to compare the sustainability of individual items in food systems. Food miles are one factor used when testing the environmental impact of food, such as the carbon footprint of the food the concept of food miles originated in the early 1990s in the united kingdom.
An assessment of the full cost of the uk weekly basket, science direct, food policy 30, 1. In most cases, the emphasis on eating local stems from a concern that the global food chain is this article appeared in the fraser forum in april 2010 the transportation of. In the eu and especially the uk the country which this report focuses on there are two types of concerns over this issue intranational and international food miles. Despite significant recent public concern and media attention to the environmental impacts of food, few studies in the united states have systematically compared the lifecycle greenhouse gas ghg emissions associated with food production against longdistance distribution, aka foodmiles. It was conceived by professor tim lang at the sustainable agriculture food. In a final section, several implications of assessing. The validity of food miles as an indicator of sustainable. It documents the equivalent co 2 emissions related to transportation of imported food. Food miles final report issue 7 ed50254 aea technology 7. Food miles the international debate and implications for new zealand exporters food miles the big picture global trade has resulted in more and more products travelling everincreasing distances from production to.
Replacing red meat and dairy with chicken, fish, or eggs for one day per week reduces emissions equal to 760 miles per year of driving. Fbc supports organic agricultural practices, however, this manual focuses on the importance of reducing food miles and supporting local communities. It highlights that about 30% of the agricultural and food commodities consumed in canada are imported. View html version attra sustainable agriculture program. Highlights this paper presents a 1 year snapshot of canadas total import related food miles. The validity of food miles as an indicator of sustainable development final report. Food miles comparative energyemissions performance of new. While the term food miles is used to describe the concept, this report uses the metric measurement of kilometres for food transport distances in australia. A new debate has emerged around the environmental and social impacts. The recent defra report estimates costs of food miles at.
The more food miles that attach to a given food, the less sustainable and the less environmentally desirable that food is. The focus on increased foodmiles due to increased inter. Food miles is a term now commonly used to measure the transport distance travelled by food products between production and consumption. Students work out food miles for the ingredients for the evening meal.
Use resource 2 food miles facts and resource 3 food miles record sheet. Data from the 2005 school nutrition and dietary assessment survey, sponsored by usdas food and nutri. Food miles is a good leadin for talking about food sources and food choices. Pdf 745k food miles article from the bbc food matters website, which explains what food miles are, why food miles matter and what individuals can do.
In some cases, reducing food miles may reduce energy use, but there may be other social, environmental or economic tradeoffs. This summary report presents the preliminary results of the fwf modeling. The uk department for environment, food and rural affairs defra released a report in 2005, which determined that food miles alone are not a valid indicator of the sustainability of the food system. Aea technology 53 food miles final report ed50254 issue 7 consumers may also value the availability of local food varieties, and the availability of organic and freerange produce. Healthy food for a healthy world chicago council on global. In fact, in many instances, imports have a smaller environmental footprint than locally produced food. Note that we start with the food miles concept as a rough environmental indicator.
To identify and quantify the economic, environmental and social impacts of food miles. The following individuals in particular are recognized for their contributions during one or more stages of the process, including survey development, implementation, distribution, data preparation and analysis, and. We find that although food is transported long distances in general 1640 km delivery. This paper provides a critical commentary on the conception of food miles followed by an empirical application of food. The following individuals in particular are recognized for their contributions during one or more stages of the process, including survey development, implementation, distribution, data preparation and analysis, and reporting.
The defra report contains several counterintuitive findings. Fbc supports organic agricultural practices, however, this manual focuses on the importance of reducing food. And switching to vegetables one day per week cuts the equivalent of driving 1160 miles per year. Aug 09, 20 this activity looks at the food we eat and where it comes from, providing a basis for looking at how much energy goes into getting our food from a to b, and exploring how this might be reduced. That measure alone would begin to reduce food miles. The issue matters because global warming and sustainability matterand because we want the coops claims and education to be well. This 14 page report discusses food transportation in canada and the potential of reallocating money spent on food imports to be spent on canadian sustainable agriculture. At first glance reducing food miles seems an excellent way to reduce carbon emissions, because it limits emissions caused by planes, trucks, boats and trains moving food. The dangers of longdistance food transport, researched and written by angela paxton. But campaigns based on food miles may be spreading misconceptions about energy consumption and sustainable production. United states department of agriculture economic research service economic research report number 97 may 2010 local food systems concepts, impacts, and issues steve martinez, michael hand, michelle da pra, susan pollack, katherine ralston, travis smith, stephen vogel, shellye clark, luanne lohr, sarah low, and constance newman. Pdf745k food miles article from the bbc food matters website, which explains what food miles are, why food miles matter and what individuals can do. Since 1970, truck shipping has dramatically increased.
It was conceived by professor tim lang at the sustainable agriculture food and environment safe alliance and first appeared in print in a report the food miles report. This analysis builds on the 20 chicago council report advancing global food security. Department of agriculture, providing timely informa. Food miles and data interpretation home association for. Many of the supporters of food miles actively state in their commentary that food miles are a legitimate justification for limiting imports.
Report for department of the environment, food and rural affairs. International trade related food miles the case of. An iowa perspective on how far food travels, fuel usage, and greenhouse gas emissions. A history of the food miles campaign a history of the food miles campaign october 1994 launch of the food miles report with wide coverage and public debate. The higher the food mileage from field to fork, the larger the load placed on the environment. Over the last fifty years, there has been a large increase in the distance food travels from the farm to the consumer, known as food miles. The food miles report the dangers of longdistance food transport. The food wastage footprint model fwf is a project of the natural resources management and environment department. To assess the main trends leading to increases in food miles around the uk and overseas. The findings will be written up in a report including the following.
Food miles challenge within carleton county and across new brunswick with financial support from the new brunswick agriculture council nbac. International trade related food miles the case of canada. Food, fuel, and freeways national good food network. Food is being transported longer and longer distances food miles from. Oct 11, 2007 a report published by defra pdf, britains environment and farming ministry, says its more useful to think in terms of foodvehicle miles the miles travelled by vehicles carrying food and foodtonne miles which considers the tonnage being carried. The term food miles refers to the distance food travels from the location. May 20, 2016 this 14 page report discusses food transportation in canada and the potential of reallocating money spent on food imports to be spent on canadian sustainable agriculture. The food miles report the dangers of longdistance food transport food is being transported longer and longer distances food miles from producer to consumer. Food miles nutrition food and sustainable development. United states department of agriculture local food systems. The food miles report the dangers of longdistance food.
Imports of fruit have doubled and imports of vegetables have tripled. Overview of the food miles debate historical context the phrase food miles was first coined by british academic professor tim lang in the mid1990s paxton, 1994. The concept of food miles, the distance food travels before being consumed, dates back to a 1994 report called the food miles report. At first glance reducing food miles seems an excellent way to reduce carbon emissions, because it limits emissions caused by planes, trucks, boats and trains. To compile a food miles dataset covering the supply chain from farmer both uk and overseas to consumer for 1992, 1997 and 2002. In 1994 the safe alliance1 launched the food miles report which, for the first time, comprehensively illustrated the environmental and social implications of the rapid escalation in the distance that our food was travelling, from the plough to the plate. Food miles in australia ceres community environment park. The power of science, trade, and business, which laid out an overarching strategy to prior. To analyse the concept of food miles as an assessment tool for sustainability, we first describe three related concepts. Section 3 outlines our modelling framework and details results from our simulation exercises. Transgender survey and the hundreds of individuals and organizations that made this survey report possible.
In the uk, comparatively little of the food we consume comes from local producers. Purpose the purpose of this paper is to test the efficacy of the concept of food miles that has proved so popular with the public as a means of assessing the sustainability of produce. Reprint of the original 1994 publication, with an updated foreword. Foodmiles and the relative climate impacts of food. Report summary ers is a primary source of economic research and analysis from the u. An assessment of the debate over the unnecessary transport of food, five years on from the food miles report. Food miles comparative energyemissions performance of. The idea of food miles, the distance that food has to be shipped, has entered into debates in both popular and academic circles about local eating. An oftcited figure claims that the average item of food travels 1,500 miles before it reaches your plate.
Local food, food miles and carbon emissions overview. This varies depending on the source, distribution system, processingpacking and turnover of the retail outlet. A report published by defra pdf, britains environment and farming ministry, says its more useful to think in terms of foodvehicle miles the miles travelled by vehicles carrying food and foodtonne miles which considers the tonnage being carried. Tackling them will support local food, but wont always cut carbon emissions. Locally produced, seasonal produce cuts food miles and can make environmental and economic sense. Overall that food traveled more than 61 billion tonnes km and generated about 3.
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