How long was the journey of your meal, how far did your food travel? Simply put, food miles are the distance a food travels from where it’s grown to your plate, usually via farm, factory and the local supermarket or supplier.
In our latest article, we look at the environmental impact of food miles, as well as what they mean for hospitality and foodservice businesses in the UK.
The impact of food travel and miles
New research published last year in the journal Nature Food put forward the argument that global food mile emissions are higher than previously thought, accounting for nearly one-fifth of total food-system emissions.
The results found that in a single year, global food miles were responsible for a massive 3bn tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions — 3.5-7.5 times larger than previous estimates. It’s important to note that the authors of this report incorporated emissions from transporting fertilisers, machinery and animal feed in the figures, as well as the process of moving the food around the world itself.
A complex journey
There are many nuances to consider when calculating the food miles of a product, such as the form of transport used, with products flown over shorter journeys creating a significantly larger carbon footprint than ones shipped across longer distances.
This means that it’s not as simple as saying that the further a product has come from, the larger environmental impact it has; it’s far more complex than that. Let’s pull out a couple of examples, to show the intricate details that combine to affect the environmental impact of the food we eat – and they might surprise you.
One much cited example is that for shoppers in the UK, buying lamb produced in New Zealand could be better for the environment than lamb reared in England, because of the differences in farming practices across the two countries.
Interestingly, the 2022 Nature Food paper also addressed the fact that, from a food mile perspective, eating plant-based food isn’t always necessarily better from a sustainability perspective. While the study showed that meat is responsible for almost two-fifths of total food system emissions, it only accounts for 4% of all food transport emissions because of the primarily local nature of many meat supply chains. On the other hand, fruits and vegetables are responsible for one-fifth of global food miles, but account for over one-third of transport emissions. This is because of the heavy, energy-intensive refrigeration that is required to transport these items safely, and consumers’ demand for out-of-season foods.
What does this mean for UK businesses?
So, unfortunately, there is no straightforward answer. Where food is concerned, we are dealing with a vast, global interconnected supply chain.
One recommendation which is often touted is to consider sourcing seasonal and local food. Indeed, the recent Nature Food study found that food miles are likely responsible for about 6% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, with the authors calculating that 3bn tonnes of CO2-equivalent was produced in transporting food for human consumption each year (‘Global food-miles account for nearly 20% of total food-systems emissions’, Li, M., Jia, N., Lenzen, M. et al. June 2022).
However, while this makes sense intuitively, it’s not that simple. Other considerations have to be taken into account, such as the size of the contribution that GHG emissions from domestic and international transportation make to the overall carbon footprint of food. This led the authors of the report to conclude that while eating local food can bring modest emission reductions, especially in richer countries, it should be paired with eating seasonal produce and reducing meat consumption to limit overall dietary emissions.
For UK hospitality and foodservice businesses, this highlights why it’s so important to consider all the factors that play their part in the eco impact of ingredients. The use of dedicated calculation software can help; for example, Foodprint from Nutritics includes more than three million ingredients, allowing businesses to get a clearer idea of the impact of their food and swap out ingredients for potentially lower impact alternatives.
A seasonal menu
“Eating local, seasonal alternatives, as we have throughout most of the history of our species, will help provide a healthy planet for future generations,” – Prof David Raubenheimer, University of Sydney, co-author of the study published in Nature Food.
As we’ve seen, when food miles are concerned, it’s not always a straightforward vegetable-for-meat swap. Eating in-season ingredients was a finding that shone through from the report and should be explored where possible as a way to reduce food travel.
For some establishments, switching to seasonal ingredients at the expense of others will require an element of education around the choices available on the menu. In affluent countries, consumers have become used to seeing out-of-season foods on the menu all year round. The use of eco labels showing the smaller environmental impact of seasonal vegetables in comparison could be one way of helping consumers understand why different ingredients have been chosen.
Selling seasonal produce can also be a useful marketing hook for restaurants and cafés, allowing you to back local suppliers and showcase sustainable credentials.
Looking ahead
It’s clear that further efficiencies have to be made across the supply chain to lower the eco footprint of exporting and importing food. Cleaner energy sources for delivery vehicles is an obvious route to help cut the impact of our food miles. With the number of electric cars and charging points in the UK increasing year-on-year, we’re on the right track.
The global and complex nature of our modern food chains means there will always be food travel and miles involved with what ends up on our plates. Hospitality now has a great opportunity to highlight the impact of certain products and showcase the wonderful seasonal produce on our doorstep.