Food miles

Food miles is a term which refers to the distance food is transported from the time of its production until it reaches the consumer. Food miles are one factor used when assessing the environmental impact of food, including the impact on global warming.^[1] This type of metric is sometimes used as a carbon emission label on packaging.

The concept of food miles originated in 1990 in the United Kingdom. It was conceived by Andrea Paxton, who wrote a research paper that used the term to describe the distance that food travels from the farm where it is produced on to the kitchen in which it is consumed.^[2] On average, food travels between 1,500 to 2,500 miles (4,000 km) every time that it is delivered to the consumer.

Road transport produces 60% of the world's food transport carbon emissions. Air transport produces 20% of the world's food transport carbon emissions. Rail and sea transport produce 10% each of the world's food transport carbon emissions.^[8]


FOOD MILES CALCULATOR

I put in South Africa where a the popular variety Pink Lady's come from:

Food miles calculator

your results!

Assuming your food has come from the capital, Pretoria travelling to the capital London, it has travelled approximately

5608 miles (9023km)

as the crow flies.

This Calculation is merely an estimate and does not take into account many different factors. These include the Food Miles contained within a particular product. For Example if you entered something like fresh juice, this value does not include the distance travelled from point of harvest to packaging.

The other factors to consider are getting the product to you. The above calculation only gives a rough estimate of the distance travelled to get the item into the destination. It does not take into account getting the item into your house and onto the plate. This includes long haul transportation actually getting it from the supermarket!

To put this into perspective, below are some comparisons..[1]

If this distance was covered by an Aeroplane that would create approximately
2019 kgCO2 or 551 kg Carbon

If this distance was covered by a Car that would create approximately
1626 kgCO2 or 444 kg Carbon

If this distance was covered by a Train that would create approximately
561 kgCO2 or 153 kg Carbon

With this tool I can plot how far apples are travelling and perhaps rate them.  This could be presented a an Info-graphic or educational leaflet.