Archived press release

Government reveals huge impact of food miles

15 July 2005

Food transport is having a major impact on the environment, a new Government report admits today. The report has been welcomed by Friends of the Earth, which is urging the Government to take urgent action to tackle the problem.

The report, by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs [DEFRA], estimates that transporting food to and around the UK produced 19 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2002 of which 10 million tones were emitted in the UK - 1.8 per cent of total UK carbon dioxide emissions. The report says that the overall social and environmental cost of food transport is £9 billion with impacts on road congestion, accidents, climate change, noise and air pollution.

Friends of the Earth is calling on the Government to take action to reduce UK food miles, including:

• Tougher policies to stop the development of out-of-town stores. These developments encourage car-based shopping and kill off high street shops, giving consumers less choice on where and how to shop.

• New and government-funded well resourced schemes - such as local abattoirs and locally sourced food by schools and shops - to ensure the development of far more local and regional food supplies that are efficient and sustainable.

• Setting strong targets now for companies to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions.

Friends of the Earth is also calling on food companies to act more responsibly by sourcing food from much nearer to home, and doing more to reduce their impacts.

Friends of the Earth's food campaigner, Vicky Hird, said

"At last the Government appears to have woken up to the huge environmental and social impacts of transporting our food. But unfortunately it still appears to be unwilling to take adequate action to tackle it. Asking the food companies to make lorries a bit more efficient is irrelevant when those lorries are making unnecessary journeys.

"To suggest that locally sourced food may generate more food miles is ludicrous. Locally produced food is far better for food miles, but it must be planned and supported by local and national government to find the most efficient methods available.

"The Government must get tougher to reduce food miles. Unless it tackles this problem the impacts will become worse and Government targets to reduce carbon dioxide levels will be much harder to achieve."

If you're a journalist looking for press information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.

Published by Friends of the Earth Trust