Food miles

Food miles is an expression for concept that the mileage of food before it reaches the consumer (or the plate) is a good indicator for the environmental impact of the food and its components. Recent findings indicate that it is not only how far the food has travelled but how it has travelled that is important to consider. The positive environmental effects of organic farming can be offset by long travels compared to by organice produce made by local farms. But even then the logistics and how that affects other traffic can play a big role. Also, many trips by personal cars to external shopping centres would have a negative environmental impact compared to a few truck loads to neighbourhood stores that can be easily accessed by walking or biking.

External links

Food miles at DEFRA