Do a quick check of your food miles
The distance our food travels is important to many people. Some of it does silly trips up and down the country going from farm, manufacturer or packer to depots spread around the country and often back again to reach stores a few 
miles from where it started.
Some of it comes from all over the world; sometimes unavoidably, sometimes just because it can be hauled in cheaper from abroad.
Organic directory website, OrganicLinker.com, has now launched a food miles calculator to allow shoppers to do a quick check of the distance produce might have racked-up to reach them. The aim, according to site owner and food miles calculator developer, Mike Sharp, is to encourage more local sourcing of food, preferably direct from the producer.
Mike told us: “People often do not fully understand the impact on the environment of buying fruit and vegetables from abroad. By buying local, not only are you helping to cut down on carbon emissions, but you are also supporting your local economy and grower.”
Of course the argument isn’t simple. It’s entirely possible that a product grown in its natural climate and transported to the UK could use less carbon than an equivalent grown here in a heated poly tunnel. But the answer to that is to buy local and seasonal. But while we’re all wrestling with how far our food-buying consciences will let us go in changing our eating habits, you can at least take a quick peek at the miles involved and decide quite how guilty you should feel!
Might seem like an odd request.. but can anyone recall what the required conversion periods were in the past.. More succinctly, can anyone recall any of the various certificating bodies requiring a six year conversion period? Not as flippant as it may seem as part of an ongoing debate that mey result in several producers converting.. Any one ever trained cats to juggle?
Thanks for the comment, Paul. I’ll take this up with our standards experts and try to get to an answer for you – assuming anyone who’s here now has a memory that goes back far enough…