Food transport from afar wasteful, risky - UK group
Date: 11-Dec-01
Country: UK
The report, by UK lobby group Sustain, said products bought from British supermarkets for a traditional turkey dinner could have travelled more than 24,000 miles (38,620 km) by ship, truck or aeroplane - a long, unnecessary journey. By ignoring local food supplies, Britain was wasting fuel, sacrificing food security and harming the environment, it said.
"The food system has become almost completely dependent on crude oil," Andy Jones, who wrote the report, said in a statement.
"Food distribution is also a major contributor to climate change and other forms of pollution ... We need to invest now in regional and local food systems combined with fair trade initiatives that will bring about a more secure, sustainable and fair food system."
The future of farming is up for debate in Britain after the countryside was ravaged by a foot-and-mouth disease epidemic which led to the slaughter of almost four million animals this year and cost the government hundreds of millions of pounds.
The government has launched inquiries into how to shape future agricultural policies while lobby, farming and environmental groups have lined up to outline their demands. Sustain called on officials to encourage local producers to supply consumers, saying transporting food by road spread diseases such as foot-and-mouth.
"Other problems highlighted include loss of nutrients in food, increased incidence and spread of diseases like foot-and-mouth, and major animal welfare problems," the food and farming lobby group's report said.
It also said countries should stop exchanging food.
"Rather than importing what they cannot produce themselves, many countries appear to be simply 'swapping food'. In 1997, the UK imported 126 million litres of milk and exporting 270 million litres," the report said.
"For every calorie of carrot, flown in from South Africa, we use 66 calories of fuel."