The Concept of Food Miles

In its simplest form, “food miles” refers to the distance food travels from the farm to the consumer.

The concept of food miles has existed for some time, at least within the organic movement, where environmental issues have always been a priority.¹ However, in conventional agriculture, food miles seem to have become popular only recently, at least under that name. In 2005, the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) published a major study, The Validity of Food Miles as an Indicator of Sustainable Development, in which it quoted only one earlier report on the topic using the name “food miles” (SAFE Alliance 1994). DEFRA (2005: i) defines food miles as “the distance food travels from the farm to consumer.” More sophisticated versions of the concept relate to energy use, carbon emissions, or other measures of environmental damage.

If food supply chains are similar in other respects (e.g., production and storage costs), it makes sense for the consumer to purchase the product that uses the smallest amount of energy in transportation. However, this does not necessarily favor the item that has traveled the fewest miles, as different modes of transport require differing amounts of energy per unit of produce. In addition, other factors are rarely equal, as production methods and costs in different countries vary a great deal. In the absence of market failure, or with sound policies to address any failures, differences in energy use are reflected in the consumer price, and so influence consumer behavior.

There are various environmental and perhaps social costs that may not be incorporated in the product price, however. Transport involves several externalities, such as emissions, accidents, and noise, which may not be taken into account. The relation between these externalities and distance traveled is a complex one. Indeed, consumers may be inadvertently encouraged by environmentalists to buy goods that may contribute to greater environmental pollution. As this paper will show, buying locally produced goods is an oversimplified way of addressing the issue of unpriced externalities.

Download this Paper [ PDF 128KB| 16 pages ].

Comment(s)

There are [0] comment(s) for this entry. Post a comment.