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Abstract:

This report focuses on food miles - what they are, whether and how it might be possible to reduce them and what the consequences of so doing might be.

'Food miles' is a phrase used to encapsulate concerns about the increasing distances our food travels, and the environmental and social consequences thereof.

In this report we consider whether measures to shorten the food supply chain and reduce food miles can help cut CO₂ emissions from transport and, in so doing, achieve an overall reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the food system.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change states that we need to achieve a 60-80% cut in human-generated greenhouse gas emissions. All sectors, including the food industry, will have to make a proportionate contribution to achieving this goal.

We suggest that the features of a lower carbon food system would include the following six elements:

Seasonal and indigenous: Fresh produce grown during its natural growing season and well adapted to UK growing conditions will be less transport intensive and produce fewer overall CO₂ emissions than non-indigenous foods or those imported out of season.

Efficient manufacturing: The processing plant needs to be efficiently operated and managed.

Minimal use of temperature controlled storage: This should not, in the process, compromise safety standards or generate waste through spoilage.

Local clustering: The inputs to the product in question must be situated near to the site of production. For processed foods, it is important that the constituent ingredients can be and are grown or produced nearby. For livestock production a nearby source of (among other things) feed and fodder will be important. There are also downstream connections to consider - in the case of livestock this will be the location of the abattoir, the cutting rooms and so forth.

Journey distance: The distance from point of production to point of retail to point of consumption should be minimised.

Logistical efficiency: The fuel efficiency of a vehicle and the way it is managed and operated are very important. In addition loads must be consolidated and vehicles as full as possible while they are in use.

In short, action to foster a lower carbon food system requires movement in the following direction:

A recognition that the food system needs to reduce the quantities of CO₂ it emits very considerably.
Policies and measures to reduce carbon emissions throughout the life-cycle of food so that trade-offs become synergies.
A stronger national and regional food base.
Measures to shift businesses away from long distance food transport and towards more nationally and regionally based sourcing.
Co-ordinated and co-operative methods of distributing goods both for the multiples and for local independent stores.
Information and Communication Technology which assists the development of less carbon-intensive systems.
Different retail structures.
Changes in the way we consume.
Ongoing research.

Finally, industry, government and consumers alike have a choice. We can seek to salvage elements of sustainability from the current system, in order to keep the system going as it is for a little longer. Or we can take a risk, look further into the future, and start to think and do differently. We believe the second route to be the only survivable option.

This report contains an executive summary, and is divided into the following sections:

Introduction
Food in the supply chain
Food and freight: The trends and their impact
The technological approach: How far will efficiency get you?
Why things are the way they are: The influences shaping the food supply chain
The business approach: Anticipating and preparing for the future
Food, transport distance and life-cycle carbon emissions: Exploring the relationship
A lower carbon food system: Exploring the alternatives and the policies for achieving them
Recommendations