Summary
One of the most compelling reasons for choosing local food, highlighted by the Western Morning News' Buy Local campaign, is the benefits it brings for the environment. Food miles - the distance travelled between farm and plate - create huge amounts of largely unnecessary carbon dioxide. Buying local and rejecting all but essential imports can dramatically reduce food miles and help to slow the rate of global warming.
So it is disappointing to discover that in 2004, the last year for which figures are available, C02 emissions caused by food transport both within and to the United Kingdom hit their highest ever levels. Lorries and aircraft pumping millions of tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere travelled further than ever with cargoes of food during the year, severely hampering attempts to bring down emissions and stop the planet from over-heating.See the full content of this document
Extract
Another Reason to Buy Local Food
Defra's response to the figures at the weekend was lacklustre. "It is early days," a spokeswoman said. "We have established a working partnership with the food industry w...
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