Greenhouse gases are emitted at each stage of food production from growing, processing and packaging to transportation. But we can reduce our impact with thoughtful choices.
Data was collected to establish food miles and greenhouse gas emissions estimates for a typical food basket in Victoria. The total distance of the road transportation in the food basket was estimated at 21,073 kilometres (km), almost the same distance to travel around Australia’s coastline (25,760 km). The total distance for all transportation of the food basket was estimated at 70,803 km, equivalent to travelling nearly twice around the circumference of the Earth (40,072 km), or travelling around Australia's coastline three times.
The total greenhouse gas emissions estimate for all food trucks transporting all road-transported food items, over the total road transport distance, was 11, 327 tonnes (t) CO2–e. If all the food trucks were transporting all food items on the same day, the emissions from this one day of transportation (11, 327 t CO2–e), is equivalent to 2, 832 cars driving for one year.
You can and do choose what the impact of your food choices will be every time you purchase food products, heres just a few examples:
1 kg potato chips -Food miles -2,023 km*
Buying supports packaged products from multinational companies. Each ingredient and eventual packaging travels to a central location and is then distributed around the country. We support another countries economy when the money leaves the country. Greenhouse gas emissions:9 Black Balloons**
1 Californian orange -Food miles -12,878 km*
Supporting a faceless grower on the other side of the globe. Imported when Australian oranges are out of season. Money leaves the country. Greenhouse gas emissions: Goodness knows!
1 kg of Onions -Food miles -782 km*
Onions are transported from as far away as Queensland (those that are not imported!). Greenhouse gas emissions:3.5 Black Balloons**
Queensland BananasFood miles -2,746 km*
Bananas are a tropical fruit not suited to growing in Victoria or other places in the country. Greenhouse gas emissions:12 Black Balloons**
*Information based on - Gaballa, S. & Abraham A. B. 2007. Food Miles in Australia: A preliminary Study of Melbourne Victoria. CERES Community Environment Park. (Greenhouse gases are calculated from food transportation only)
**A black balloon is a symbol used by the Victorian government Sustainability Victoria Initiative to illustrate 50 grams of greenhouse gas.
How do we stop all this waste?
Every mile/kilometre your food travels means more greenhouse gas emissions. The closer to home your food comes from with the least packaging, the lower the emissions (and zero from your own garden!)
Buy fruit and vegetables when in season
Asparagus from Peru or beans from Thailand! Wait until the locally grown produce is available, or your own has grown--they'll taste better. You can always freeze or preserve local produce for use in the winter.
Grow your own food
Start your own veggie, fruit, herb garden--fresh food from your own backyard. You could even keep a few chooks for fresh eggs. This way you control amounts of food, what goes onto your garden in the way of fertilisers, soil improvers, mulches, chemicals and everything in between.
Buy locally produced food
It's been transported less, it's fresher and it supports the local economy. Use your local shops and farmers markets. You don't face scares like the milk horror in Asia, there isn't lead in the seafood from other countries etc etc
Food miles is all about the distance food travels from the producer to the plate. It maintains food should be consumed close to where it's grown because transportation uses up limited fossil fuel supplies and produces greenhouse gases, creating climate change risks. There are various farmers markets springing up around Australia, which conform to the food miles philosophy. An independent grocery shop near Canberra even states the exact number of kilometres their fruit and vegies have travelled.
I promote buying as much as possible locally, not just your foods, your gifts, clothing, furniture etc wherever possible. Yes, we pay more, at least in WA it would seem so, however I would rather pay more than increase the pollution, I would rather pay more than supply another states economy, I would rather pay more and increase my own communities resilience with employment & skills, I would rather pay more and get to know my local networks.....you get the picture...... Take care of you and yours molly
12 Responses:
This message really needs to get out everywhere.
It's even more criminal when people let those food miles rot in the fridge and then chuck it a plastic bin bag.
Well done Molly!
Thanks L. We are lucky here, we have markets, local producers of foods,we have some amazing gift shops for the craft challenged such as myself. Hopefully the message will get out there.
I am actually thinking that we should (our organisation) begin promoting these stories in our local paper, something I will put to our Board this week.
I agree with The Crone, this message really needs to get out everywhere.
It's a bit whimsical but I think we should have more ads on tv with the black balloons. You can't see green house gas emmissions but a sky full of those balloons might make people sit up and think about what they do.
I like the idea Nevyn, however can you imagine it ever happening? They make too much money from what they are doing, gawd forbid the public actually becoming so aware LOL
Growing your own is the only way I know to stop this mess. Check out www.pathtofreedom.com and check out their 100 ft challange. All foods eaten come with in 100 ft of their home. Now that's a challange for us all. They have a great site and I know you will love it. Wait til you see what they raise on 1/10 of and acre, in the city no less.
Chris
I hear you Chris. We are on a quarter acre in town here and I have 50 fruits and many of our own vegies.
I have follwed path to freedom for a few years now, they do some incredible work! You can find some great videos on them on youtube too
Hi Molly
I unashamedly love bananas. And they can't be grown in Canberra. Do you think I could still have them, along with my back yard produce? Bananas and chocolate - 2 things hard to give up; 2 things with lots of food miles. Oh, the dilemma.*sigh*
Actually, not so very long ago, people treated foods not grown in their local area (or own back yard) as a luxury. That's the mentality we need to get back to.
Not that we'd want to put anyone out of work (factory processors, warehouse personnel, truck drivers, etc) - they'd just need to do different work. And our society as a whole would be healthier, eating more vital food. That would mean less strain on the health system and probably a better economy.
With all the red tape and bureaucracy around environmental issues now, we really do need to be educating our family, friends, colleagues, neighbours, etc about growing their own food.
Keep up the good work. xx
Good to see you pop in NW. I decided long ago that I would still have the occcasional luxury. Not often, and to find the least damaging version (free trade chocolate etc)
We buy bananas about once every 3 or so months, enough for everyone to have a couple each then they are gone until next time and we eat the locals goods.
I'm with you on gettting back to the luxury stance. I also agree in years to come employment will change, health status of the average joe will improve, there are many benefits I see coming (along with the not so nice things).
I also agree about education, and the best way I find, at least for me, is to live it...my children learn, friends ask about the logic behind whatever I'm doing, others observe and try it themselves...still a long, long way to go though for mankind.
Speaking of local produce - Molly next time we meet, if you need honey, the little fruit & vege shop next to our last meeting spot sells local honey. There's local jarrah (the kind that can be used medicinally too), wildflower honey (from Darlington) or some other stuff from Beechina.
Tastes amazing too!
People really need to buy local honey - the stuff from over east is heat treated due to quarantine regulations as it crosses the border, so it loses a lot of the vitamins and 'good stuff'!.
Local honey doesn't get heat treated in this way and is far better for you.
Hi Nat! I agree, everything we can lay our hands on needs to be local when we can. My daughters boyfriends family keeps us in honey, and you re right, it tstes delicious!
I would be interested in buying & using the medicinal one though. Many years ago when I was nursing we used honey on decubitis ulcers in a nursing home I was in, everyone thought the old girl was a nutter (the Matron)...worked a treat though!
All well said! I think most people don't give where their food actually comes from a passing thought, because they think it is of no consequence to them. How wrong!
Hey ER, good to see you. I often wonder how many are still blissfully iggnorant about food miles, amny don't have a clue, then there are those who as you say think it has no effect on them as individuals....lordy I hope times change in a hurry!
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