Comments on: Food Miles http://mssv.net/2007/08/08/food-miles/ Just another WordPress weblog Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:42:03 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: Dougald Hine http://mssv.net/2007/08/08/food-miles/comment-page-1/#comment-23703 Dougald Hine Mon, 13 Aug 2007 17:14:58 +0000 http://mssv.net/2007/08/08/food-miles/#comment-23703 Very interesting post! I read a piece from Graham Harvey (on the Guardian website) which suggested that the energy-intensiveness of British lamb and dairy farming is largely a result of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy. This subsidises the overproduction of grain, half of which is used as animal feed. According to Harvey, it is this, rather than the quality of English grass, that drives farmers to keep their livestock in sheds, raising their carbon footprint. Here's the article: http://tinyurl.com/38tvo7 It's no scientific paper, and he clearly has his axes to grind, but I'd be interested to know more. Very interesting post!

I read a piece from Graham Harvey (on the Guardian website) which suggested that the energy-intensiveness of British lamb and dairy farming is largely a result of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy. This subsidises the overproduction of grain, half of which is used as animal feed. According to Harvey, it is this, rather than the quality of English grass, that drives farmers to keep their livestock in sheds, raising their carbon footprint.

Here’s the article:

http://tinyurl.com/38tvo7

It’s no scientific paper, and he clearly has his axes to grind, but I’d be interested to know more.

]]> By: Paul Miller » Blog Archive » Carbon Complications http://mssv.net/2007/08/08/food-miles/comment-page-1/#comment-23696 Paul Miller » Blog Archive » Carbon Complications Mon, 13 Aug 2007 14:49:29 +0000 http://mssv.net/2007/08/08/food-miles/#comment-23696 [...] things are going to get as climate change becomes a much more mainstream issue. Adrian Hon has a good piece looking at a paper about the carbon emissions from various foods grown in the UK and New [...] [...] things are going to get as climate change becomes a much more mainstream issue. Adrian Hon has a good piece looking at a paper about the carbon emissions from various foods grown in the UK and New [...]

]]> By: Chris Carey http://mssv.net/2007/08/08/food-miles/comment-page-1/#comment-23482 Chris Carey Fri, 10 Aug 2007 16:45:46 +0000 http://mssv.net/2007/08/08/food-miles/#comment-23482 Interesting thoughts on a topical subject. Another consideration is what the consumer does next to the food. Does it get eaten immediately or frozen for months; how is it cooked; how much product makes up a meal - this may be different for different people - an extra potato on the plate means you are one potato nearer to revisiting the market - in turn this has health, fitness, transport and diet implications, which leads to pressures on the health service and further congestion..I think I'll stop now! Interesting thoughts on a topical subject. Another consideration is what the consumer does next to the food. Does it get eaten immediately or frozen for months; how is it cooked; how much product makes up a meal – this may be different for different people – an extra potato on the plate means you are one potato nearer to revisiting the market – in turn this has health, fitness, transport and diet implications, which leads to pressures on the health service and further congestion..I think I’ll stop now!

]]> By: Rowan http://mssv.net/2007/08/08/food-miles/comment-page-1/#comment-23432 Rowan Thu, 09 Aug 2007 13:09:58 +0000 http://mssv.net/2007/08/08/food-miles/#comment-23432 This is exactly why I'm glad Tesco has promised a carbon footprint label on food instead of a food miles label. As long as it comes with clear delineation of what contributes (and doesn't) to that footprint, of course. If they keep up the boundary graphs like http://www.tesco.com/climatechange/carbonFootprint.asp , that' be nice... This is exactly why I’m glad Tesco has promised a carbon footprint label on food instead of a food miles label.

As long as it comes with clear delineation of what contributes (and doesn’t) to that footprint, of course. If they keep up the boundary graphs like http://www.tesco.com/climatechange/carbonFootprint.asp , that’ be nice…

]]> By: MikeyJ http://mssv.net/2007/08/08/food-miles/comment-page-1/#comment-23418 MikeyJ Thu, 09 Aug 2007 10:10:22 +0000 http://mssv.net/2007/08/08/food-miles/#comment-23418 Excellent post! I'm resisting adding a rant here about OrganicTM food and its environmental impact. But simply limiting myself to carbon footprint OrganicTM food can have a greater impact than non-organic alternatives (chicken being an example). Excellent post! I’m resisting adding a rant here about OrganicTM food and its environmental impact. But simply limiting myself to carbon footprint OrganicTM food can have a greater impact than non-organic alternatives (chicken being an example).

]]> By: Alexander Van Ingen http://mssv.net/2007/08/08/food-miles/comment-page-1/#comment-23416 Alexander Van Ingen Thu, 09 Aug 2007 09:21:33 +0000 http://mssv.net/2007/08/08/food-miles/#comment-23416 Delighted to see this getting picked up - good post. There's some other interesting stuff on this out there - IIRC, the British produce onions very effectively, but we should import tomatoes and lettuce from Spain,r something like that. Also see here: http://adamant.typepad.com/seitz/2007/08/wheres-ye-beefe.html Brian is right to raise the issue of refrigeration - all those who witter about shipping, rather than airfreighting, food tend to have omitted to calculate the amount of energy required to refrigerate food to keep it fresh on the long sea journey... AVI Delighted to see this getting picked up – good post. There’s some other interesting stuff on this out there – IIRC, the British produce onions very effectively, but we should import tomatoes and lettuce from Spain,r something like that.

Also see here:
http://adamant.typepad.com/seitz/2007/08/wheres-ye-beefe.html

Brian is right to raise the issue of refrigeration – all those who witter about shipping, rather than airfreighting, food tend to have omitted to calculate the amount of energy required to refrigerate food to keep it fresh on the long sea journey…

AVI

]]> By: Brian Enigma http://mssv.net/2007/08/08/food-miles/comment-page-1/#comment-23396 Brian Enigma Thu, 09 Aug 2007 02:41:32 +0000 http://mssv.net/2007/08/08/food-miles/#comment-23396 It also seems to me that transporting ice cream, for instance, is going to have a higher carbon-cost than transporting rice or oranges or any other room-temperature items because of the extra energy needed for refrigeration. But yes, I agree that there is something flawed in the "food miles" idea. It also seems to me that transporting ice cream, for instance, is going to have a higher carbon-cost than transporting rice or oranges or any other room-temperature items because of the extra energy needed for refrigeration.

But yes, I agree that there is something flawed in the “food miles” idea.

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