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Food / shopping miles, refers to the distance that produce / products travel from producers to consumers. The idea is that by minimising this distance there is less transportation and therefore less carbon dioxide pollution released into the environment.
We have provided the addresses of all the companies we list in our food & shopping pages, and where the information is available, supplied details of where their goods are sourced from.
The ideal is to purchase locally grown produce or shopping products direct from the producer/manufacturer and have it home delivered, rather than driving to and from a retailer. This minimises the carbon burden placed upon the environment. There are other advantages when buying locally, for example, in lots of cases there is free home delivery. Also, if you are buying direct from the producer rather than a retailer the food should, in theory, be fresher.
In practice however, the quality and availability of goods and customer service are not always available locally nor is it always convenient, and unfortunately these considerations can’t always be overlooked when it comes to choosing where and who we purchase from.
Concerns over air miles have been raised, but presently only 110,000 tonnes of food is imported annually into the UK by air, while 1.58 billion tonnes of food is transported in the UK by road. Reducing road miles seems the most pressing issue.
There is also an ethical slant on this story, in that actively reducing demand for internationally produced goods will affect the living standards of third world producers who rely on our markets.
Source New Scientist magazine 5th March 2005.
To find your local retailers see our shopping / local food & drink section.
You may also like to take a look at the Wholesome Food Association website - champions of locally-grown food.
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