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information for the concerned consumer
Airfreight
The Food Ethics Council recently launched a report on air-freighted food which gives detailed guidelines on how supermarkets should respond to this increasingly high profile issue.
Environmental groups highlight air freight’s impact on food’s carbon footprint, and concern over climate change has prompted calls to reduce the practice of flying food to fill supermarket shelves.
However, development organisations say that response could harm communities in poor countries who depend on horticultural exports, such as green beans from Kenya.
The report moves the debate on flying food beyond the reported conflicts between the environment and the needs of producers in poor countries.
Creating a Level Playing Field for African Strawberries
Do we have a moral obligation to eat African strawberries at Christmas?
This is a question that Benito Muller, Director of Energy and Environment at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, recently addressed. In his comment on food miles and poverty eradication, he explored some of the misconceptions around the issues of food miles and air-freighted fruit and vegetables.
Winter strawberries for example, may have a lower carbon footprint grown in sunny Kenya and flown to the UK, than out-of-season fruit grown locally in heated greenhouses. He argues that the food miles concept has misled the consumer, and that demonising imports from developing countries is harming the livelihoods of some of the world's poorest people.
Mr Muller concludes that it is time to level the playing field, and accurately portray the carbon footprint, and development benefits, of fresh produce.
Defra reports on African trade with the UK
A 2007 Defra report examined the carbon costs of African horticultural trade with the UK. African nations supply 14% of the UK's fruit and vegetable imports, of which 90% are transported by ship.
Nevertheless, concern has arisen over the carbon impacts of the 10% that is air-freighted. The report states that while air-freighting is a carbon intensive activity, the external (carbon) costs of the trade represent 10% of the value of Kenya's trade, and only 4% of the value of African trade as a whole. Defra noted that the producer benefits to developing nations should be included in assessing the costs of such trade.
The report predicts that because air-freighted high-value commodities have limited market demand, they are likely to remain a very small share of total food imports. It recommends investigating the lifecycle impacts of African horticultural produce, to get a better understanding of their developmental benefits and carbon costs.
In 2007, the Soil Association launched a consultation on the compatibility of organic food and air freight.
It identified five options for the future: to continue using a system that allows air freight, to implement a total ban on air freight for all Soil Association certified products, to implement a selective ban that allows certain exceptions with clear local development benefits, to develop a labeling system or to take part in a carbon offsetting scheme.
In December 2008, the Soil Association published the outcomes of the two-stage consultation. The Soil Association Standards Board decided not to ban air-freighting but to monitor the amount of air freighted organic goods. They will continue to work with partners in Africa to promote the positive contribution organic farming makes to food security and people’s livelihoods.
Research has shown that only around 2% of the environmental impact of food comes from transporting it from farm to shop; although for wine, it can be as high as 34%. The 'ecological' or 'carbon footprint' is now recognised as a more accurate measure of a food's impact than simply talking about 'food miles'. The type of transport is as important as the distance travelled, with sea freight regarded as the lowest impact.
A 2005 report from the University of Cardiff found that the food products with the greatest ecological impacts are beef, butter, cheese, fish, lamb, cream, chocolate, coffee and ice cream.
Co-op steps in to the air-freight debate
The Co-operative Group has stated that organisations like the Soil Association and companies like Tesco should not focus so much on air freight. It is often a relatively small part of the total environmental impact of a product and to sideline it risks increasing poverty in places such as Africa that need planes to carry some goods to markets.
Laura Vickery, International Development Manager for the Co-operative Group, also points out that the environmental impact of meat and dairy products and the use of forced heating in glasshouses is not subject to an equivalent level of scrutiny and public discussion.
Traidcraft report on vegetables
Fairtrade promoter Traidcraft has produced a report on the issues around sourcing vegetables. An estimated 38% of the fresh vegetables sold in the UK come from others countries. The report focuses on Kenya, tracing vegtables from its fields to the UK plate.
In Kenya 30,000 farm households are estimated to derive income from export horticulture and the UK and France are the top destinations for its vegetables. A French bean grown in Kenya takes 60 days from planting to harvest. Within 48 hours it is packaged, flown to the UK and on supermarket shelves.
There are many links in the supply chain for vegetables, from the workers or family members in the field, to the importers and wholesalers. The report concludes that sustainable buying practices and ethical consumerism can ensure a fair balance of responsibilities and risks between the parts of this chain.
Time for shipping to tackle carbon dioxide emissions
Aviation's carbon dioxide emissions represent about 2% of the global total and their growth has been at the forefront of the climate change debate as attention has focussed on the sharp increase in cheap flights.
However, carbon dioxide emissions from shipping are estimated to make up 4% of the global total and are responsible for transporting 90% of world trade. Recent studies have suggested maritime emissions are higher than previously thought and are increasing at an alarming rate, with a potential 75% increase within 15-20 years.
These emissions do not come under the Kyoto agreement or any proposed European legislation, which has led to renewed calls for shipping to take responsibility for its emissions and be included in the climate change agenda.
