What’s the problem?
The food we eat is being transported further than ever,[1] and there is increasing demand for a wide range of ready-prepared and exotic out-of-season produce. These trends are associated with all sorts of environmental and other problems, such as:
- Loss of freshness, flavour and variety. Long-distance fruit and vegetable varieties tend to be chosen for their yield and keeping qualities, not for flavour, diversity or nutritional value. Many are harvested before they are ripe, and stored over long periods between production, packing and distribution, sometimes with post-harvest chemical treatments such as fungicides to increase shelf-life. Soft fruits and tender vegetables go off quickly – so those that travel long distances have to travel fast, usually by air, which is the most environmentally damaging form of transport.
- Increasing global warming. Food transport, even if it is not by air, creates greenhouse gas emissions that are contributing to the increasingly devastating effects of climate change.[2]
- Paying more for less. Instead of rewarding growers with fair prices for locally grown, seasonal produce, we pay for the costs of transporting, refrigerating and packaging associated with long-distance food.
- Loss of food security. We need to invest in a UK food and farming system that is resilient to major changes, such as surges in oil prices, extreme weather (such as floods or droughts) or competition from other crops such as biofuels. Otherwise, we face the prospect of increasing food prices and shortages.
- Loss of food culture. Distinctive varieties of fruit and vegetables and native breeds of meat are integral to our culture and landscape. Long-distance food erodes seasonal and local distinctiveness in favour of boring uniformity.
- Loss of food knowledge and skills. Most of us have lost our connection with the land and seasonal rhythms, and have little or no awareness of when and where various foods are produced.
What can we do about it?
Buy more seasonal food
There is growing consumer demand for more seasonal and local food. Two thirds of consumers say they are trying to buy more seasonally,[3] and at least a quarter of visitors to restaurants specialising in ethnic cuisine want more healthy dishes featuring fresh, local ingredients.[4] This is because local, seasonal food is seen by consumers as being fresher, tastier and more nutritious.[5] As the National Consumer Council (NCC) has noted, “Seasonal food can offer better taste and be more affordable, while local food can deliver freshness, reduce food miles, offer benefits to local farmers and communities and help reconnect consumers with where their food comes from.”[6] To support and encourage local, seasonal food, you can:
- Buy fresh food when it is in season – asking for seasonal food in your local shop, restaurant or canteen. Examples of seasonality charts are in Further Information, below;
- Buy your fresh produce from a farmers’ market or via a box scheme that guarantees that what you receive is in season;
- Join a food co-op so that you and your friends can bulk-buy seasonal produce at an affordable price.[7]
- Ask for British fruit and vegetables produced to the standards of a recognised assurance scheme, such as certified organic, LEAF Marque[8] or Assured Produce.[9]
For further information
- Is it possible to find a meaningful definition of the term “seasonal food”? Jim Sumberg and Lindy Sharpe; New Economics Foundation; March 2009.
- There are now many ways to find out when certain varieties of fruit, vegetables, fish and meat are in season:
- The School Food Trust has produced authoritative posters and other useful materials showing seasonality of fruits, vegetables and some meat and fish. Download materials on the School Food Trust website.
- On the web, seasonality information can be found at, for example:
- To find local and regional food producers:
- Contact your local Food Links organisation – see http://www.foodlinks-uk.org/FlukMemList.asp for a list of Food Links groups.
- If you’re in London or the surrounding counties, use London Food Link’s Local Food Finder: http://www.localfoodfinder.org/.
- To find local producers’ markets in your area, contact:
- London Farmers' Markets: http://www.lfm.org.uk/
- The National Farmers' Retail & Markets Association (FARMA): http://www.farma.org.uk/
[1] Food transport accounted for an estimated 30 billion vehicle kilometres (a unit of measure representing the movement of any transport vehicle over one kilometre) in 2002, of which 82% are in the UK. P. Watkiss, The Validity of Food Miles as Indicator of Sustainable Development, Defra, 2005
[2] Food transport produced 19 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2002, of which 10 million tonnes were emitted in the UK, almost all from road transport. This figure represents 1.8% of the total annual UK carbon dioxide emissions and 8.7% of the total emissions from UK road use. P. Watkiss, The Validity of Food Miles as Indicator of Sustainable Development, Defra, 2005
[3] Institute of Grocery Distribution, Retail and Foodservice Opportunities for Local Food, March 2006
[4] Mintel, Ethnic Restaurants and Takeaways – UK, June 2006
[5] Institute of Grocery Distribution, Retail and Foodservice Opportunities for Local Food, March 2006
[6] National Consumer Council (2006) Seasons’ Promise: An enjoyable way to tackle climate change, by Sue Dibb, Joanna Collins and Ed Mayo, see: http://www.ncc.org.uk/nccpdf/poldocs/NCC133_seasons_promise.pdf
[7] To find out more about food co-ops visit http://www.foodcoops.org/ - also the Making Local Food Work programme at: http://www.makinglocalfoodwork.co.uk/
[8] For more information on these and other assurance schemes, see the Farming for the Planet section in this document.
[9] Assured Produce (AP) is a part of Assured Food Standards (AFS) for the production of fruit, salads, herbs and vegetables. See here for information on the scheme and its logo http://www.assuredproduce.co.uk/.
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