The Food Miles Challenge

The last 50 years have borne witness to major changes in the food production and supply chain, and the way in which people in the UK shop for their groceries.

Changes that have had a major impact include:

• globalisation of the food industry;
• centralisation and concentration of sales in large supermarkets;
• pooling of the food supply base into fewer, larger suppliers;
• major changes in delivery patterns.

One of the consequences of these changes has been the development of what is now termed 'food miles'. This has become a hot topic in recent years for government, industry, and environmental and consumer groups. At its core are environmental and social concerns relating to the impact our food choices are having on the environment, a growing interest in the safety, ethics and origins of the food we eat, and spiralling costs in relation to energy usage.

The subject has given life to a plethora of reports and proposed strategies from both government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), as well as a vast amount of activity from industry, all seeking to find a solution to a problem that, some argue, is literally costing us the Earth.

NGOs and consumer groups are increasingly calling on government to address this issue before the environmental impact is irreparable. It is suggested that the Government should incentivise industry to reduce food miles and should help to educate the public on the impact their food choices are having.

Some consumer groups would like the issue of food miles to be raised to the same level of importance accorded to nutrition advice, so that, while a nutritionist may currently advise on a healthy diet (such as five portions of fruit and vegetables a day) they could also then advise on socially and environmentally sound food choices, encouraging consumers to eat those foods that have clocked up the fewest food miles.

This report briefly looks at the growth in awareness of food sustainability and the increased pressure to reduce the mileage that food travels to reach the table. There is a balance to be struck between consumer choice, free markets, and social and environmental sustainability. While the challenges are daunting, companies that take a lead could benefit from business opportunities offered by tackling this issue.

About the author
Emma Conroy is a graduate of the School of Oriental and African Studies, London. She has worked in the Nutrition Policy Division at the Food Standards Agency UK. Her roles included Secretariat to the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, the foremost committee on nutrition in the UK. She has also worked as part of the team developing a number of UK-wide nutrition strategies, in particular the strategy to reduce salt intakes across the UK population.