|
- Defining food Miles
- Changes in food production and supply chain
- Consequences of change
- Food transportation increases emissions
- The impact on the environment, society and economy
- Helping to produce a low carbon food chain
Defining Food Miles
Food miles are concerned with the environmental and social costs associated (but not included in the price) of transporting food from where it is produced to where it is processed, to the wholesaler, to the retailer or catering outlet and to the consumer (Food Industry Sustainability Strategy 2006 (FISS)).
Changes in food production and supply chain
Over the last five decades there has been a significant change in food production and the supply chain within the UK. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has identified the following as the most significant changes:
- Globalisation of the food industry, with an increase in food trade (imports and exports) and wider sourcing of food within the UK and overseas
- Concentration of the food supply base into fewer, larger suppliers, partly to meet demand for bulk year-round supply of uniform produce
- Major changes in national food distribution patterns with the development of supermarket regional distribution centres, coupled with a trend towards use of larger Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs)
- Centralisation and concentration of sales in supermarkets, with a switch from frequent food shopping (on foot) at small local shops to weekly shopping by car at large, out of town supermarkets
Consequences of change
The shift in trends has led to a significant increase in the distance food travels from plough to plate. This has led to an increase in public awareness of the now recognised measure of ‘food miles’. Since 1978, the annual amount of food transported in the UK by HGVs has increased by 23%, and the average distance for each trip has increased by over 50%, according to Defra.
This increase in food transportation has led to an increase in the environmental, social and economic burdens associated with transportation. These include carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, air pollution, congestion, accidents and noise. There is a clear connection between food transportation and the above burdens; in general, higher levels of vehicle activity leads to larger impacts.
Food transportation accounted for 30 billion vehicle kilometres in 2002, 82% of which occurred in the UK and the vast majority of these were by road. Air freight of food accounts for only 0.1% of vehicle kilometres and 1% of the food miles tonnes kilometres (which is the distance travelled in kilometres multiplied by the weight in tonnes) according to the FISS champions report on transport 2007.
Percentage of UK food vehicle-kilometres by transport mode (2002)
(Source: Food Industry Sustainability Strategy 2006)
Food transportation increases emissions
Carbon dioxide emissions from food transport have increased by 12% between 1992 and 2002 according to Defra. Defra reported that food transportation produced 19 million tonnes of CO2 in 2002, of which 10 million tonnes were emitted in the UK, almost all from road transport. This represents 1.8% of the total annual UK CO2 emissions, and 8.7% of the total emissions of the UK road sector.
Air freight represents a small percentage of vehicle kilometres (0.1%). However, it has increased dramatically since 1992, up by 140%. This has resulted in it accounting for 11% of CO2 equivalent emissions (Defra). This increase in air freight is largely due to the increase in globalisation of food supply combined with the relative decrease in the real cost of air freight compared to other transport methods.
CO2 emissions associated with UK food transport (2002)
(Source: Food Industry Sustainability Strategy 2006)
The impact on the environment, society and economy
A Defra study undertaken by Faber Maunsell identified the opportunity for a 20% reduction in the external costs associated with domestic food transport in the UK.
|
Cost type |
Annual Costs (2005 values) |
|
Accidents |
£356m |
|
Air Quality |
£143m |
|
Congestion |
£783m |
|
CO2 |
£175m |
|
Infrastructure |
£381m |
|
Noise |
£39m |
|
Total |
£1,877m |
- Greater use of computerised vehicle routing and scheduling and vehicle tracking (3%)
- The introduction of vehicles with a higher payload and/or cubic capacity (5.3%)
- More collaboration between manufacturers, retailers, wholesalers and food service operators to share vehicle loads where deliveries are being made to the same point (3.2%)
- More ‘out of hours’ deliveries avoiding peak time road congestion (2%)
- Investment in the latest, cleanest and most efficient engine technology (3.5%)
- Optimising the location of distribution centres (2.3%)
These six options are not mutually exclusive and their combined impact on the individual externalities can not simply be added together.
The combined effect of the six options represents a reduction of 17.3% in the external cost of domestic food transport (or £325.6m per annum in monetary terms). Please refer to the FISS Food champions link below for more details.
Producing a low carbon food chain
Research by the Campaign for Better Transport investigated the various stages within the food supply chain that produce greenhouse gas emissions and concluded that a lower carbon food system would have the following features:
- Use of seasonal and indigenous produce, in preference to non-indigenous or those imported out of season
- Local cluster – inputs to the produce in question would be situated near to the site of production
- Efficient operation and management of processing plant
- Least use of temperature-controlled storage (compatible with food safety standards)
- Minimised distances from point of production to point of consumption
- Logistical efficiency (fuel efficiency, consolidation of loads, maximum vehicle fill)
The report suggested that shorter supply chains can cut emissions considerably so long as they remain logistically efficient. The research also highlighted the contribution that consumers can make to achieving sustainable food production through their purchasing decisions and lifestyle choices. Since 1992 urban food vehicle miles have been estimated to increase by 27% largely due to an increase in shopping for food by car, estimates Defra.
However, reducing food transportation does not necessarily result in a decrease in emissions. There is a need for a balance to be found between reducing food transportation emissions and product life-cycle emissions, and for this to be coherently and easily relayed to the consumer.
|
