Easy on the food miles
Lamb chops from New Zealand, runner beans from Kenya, potatoes from Israel – a tasty plate? Undoubtedly - but one that’s not so tasty for the environment. Because those runners, they didn’t actually run over here; and the lamb, it didn’t spring its way to your table. They were transported by boat, air and road. The food we eat in the UK clocks up an astounding 30 billion km a year. That’s the equivalent of sending our meals round the earth 750,000 times – and it creates 19 million tonnes of CO2 every year.
Here are some ways to cut down your food miles:
- Eattheseasons.co.uk keeps you up-to-date with this season’s must-eat local foods.
- Choose British - assuming you live in Britain of course.
- Explore what’s on your doorstep. Big Barn lets you search for local food in the UK, pointing you in the direction of farmers’ markets, fishmongers and even those nice pick-your-own strawberry places. You should also try this site, or this one if you’re based in London.
- For those on the other side of the pond, Eat Well shows you how to eat local in the US and Canada.
- And if you’re from the US, you should definitely get involved in Community Supported Agriculture.
More info from the Green Thing wiki >>
More transport-related Green Things to do >>
Here’s a thing…..long journeys take it out of you – and out of your food. The number of nutrients in your nosh drops for every kilometre it has to travel. So eating food out-of-season is not just passé; it’s actually worse for you.
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