Just what is the real cost of some of the food we’re buying at our supermarkets?
Transporting food over long distances is not environmentally friendly. People are widely aware of this nowadays & many strive to buy locally, or at least from within the UK. Food miles could be significantly cut if we returned to eating seasonal locally grown food, but even at the height of the growing season it is not as widely available as it could be.
A recent survey carried out for the Independent looked at ten foods grown in the UK – all of which can be grown here at this time of year - & found that fresh produce was being imported from as far away as South America by seven of the leading supermarkets. Marks & Spencer had the fewest foreign products with broccoli from Spain & broad beans from Guatemala. Asda was selling the most imported items – five – which included asparagus from Peru, cauliflower from France, & strawberries from Spain. Other imported produce included radishes from Holland – at Morrisons who came second best - strawberries from Holland at Tesco, & spring onions from Mexico & Kenya at Sainsbury’s!
Retailers claim that it is only by buying foreign produce that they are able to offer a supply of fruit & vegetables throughout the whole year. Many have argued that the reality is that buying from overseas is often cheaper than seasonal produce from within the UK because of cheap labour rates in developing countries.
The term ‘food miles’ was first used five years ago by Tim Lang - professor of food policy at City University in London and a Government adviser on food sustainability - who wanted to get people to think about the “hidden ecological, social and economic consequences” of where their food might be coming from.
According to the Independent, ‘One in four lorries on the road now carries food, and food miles account for 1.8 per cent of the UK’s carbon dioxide emissions…. Annually, food transportation is estimated to cost the country £9bn in congestion, greenhouse gas emissions, accidents, air pollution, noise and other problems.’
However, food miles are only one aspect of sustainability. The growing & storage of crops which are out of season in the UK can cause more pollution than transporting produce thousands of miles, the heated glass for growing & the refrigeration for storage, both consuming vast amounts of energy.
A further factor to be taken into consideration is the livelihood of farmers & their dependents in developing countries, who are reliant on income generated by western food demands.
However, the issue of food miles continues to cause consternation. A prime example was highlighted recently when in Evesham – one of Britain’s largest regions for market gardening – asparagus was found to be on sale in Tesco, having travelled all the way from Peru. One local resident commented: “It’s such a shame it had to come all the way from Peru. I could understand if asparagus was out of season.” & another stated: “It’s an insult to our heritage. My grandfather grew asparagus and he would be up in arms about this.”
Professor Lang had this to say about it: “In the middle of the British asparagus season to have aspargus coming from the other side of the world because land and labour are cheap is folly. Peruvian land ought to be feeding South Americans who are under-consuming. This is a new form of colonialism.”
