What are food miles?
Put simply, food miles are the measure of the distance a food travels from field to plate. Agriculture and food now account for nearly 30 per cent of goods transported on our roads.

This travel adds substantially to the carbon dioxide emissions that are contributing to climate change - which is why food miles matter. A new report by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) says that food miles rose by 15 per cent between 1992 and 2002.

Why does our food travel so far?
Food travels further these days partly because the centralised systems of supermarkets have taken over from local and regional markets. It defies common sense, but a pint of milk or a crop of potatoes can be transported many miles to be packaged at a central depot and then sent many miles back to be sold near where they were produced in the first place.

Also, because of the way the food processing industry works, ingredients travel around the country from factory to factory, before they make their way to the shops.

Then there’s imported produce. Ninety-five per cent of the fruit and half of the vegetables in the UK are imported. The amount of food being flown into the UK doubled in the 1990s and is predicted to rise further each year. To take one example, strawberries are flown in from warmer climates to satisfy our desire for permanent dietary summertime, and air freight has a far bigger impact on the environment than sea or road travel has.

Another reason for mounting food miles is comparative labour costs. For example, some British fish is now sent to China (where labour costs are much lower) for processing, then sent back to the UK to be sold.


Consumers are also directly responsible for increased food miles.

Consumers are also directly responsible for increased food miles. We now travel further for our shopping and use the car more often to do it. Each year, the average UK adult travels about 135 miles by car to shop for food, more often than not making trips to large, out-of-town supermarkets. This is something the Government hopes the consumer will address.

How far has my food travelled?
It's very difficult to be sure. A food’s country of origin may be on the label but, beyond this, it’s generally impossible to tell how far the food has travelled and by what means. The means of transport - as well as the distance - is an important consideration. A long journey by boat, for example, has less environmental impact than a shorter one by road. This is part of the reason why good farmers’ markets have a policy of selling food from within a defined local area.

Why else do food miles matter?
The transport of live animals is an important animal welfare issue. The numbers of animals being hauled around the country have grown with the trend for large, centralised abattoirs and meat-processing plants. Animals are also exported and imported to and from other countries. For consumers, there is also the question of quality. Freshly picked fruit and vegetables are better nutritionally, as well as having more taste.

What is being done?
There are a number of initiatives aimed at improving local food in the UK, at both a regional and a local level. Sustain, the alliance for better food and farming, is piloting projects to get local food into local schools, hospitals and shops.

Sustain is part of Food Links, an alliance of organisations around the UK involved in projects aimed at developing local food economies and decreasing the distance that food travels. Tully Wakeman of East Anglia Food Links believes it is crucial that local food is not a niche product, but that it becomes a far bigger part of the mainstream. “We need to build the infrastructure to bring together farmers so they can supply a reliable stream of local produce,” he says.


Supermarkets are increasingly aware of growing consumer concern about food miles and some are trying to increase locally produced food.