Report questions environmental impact of organic and local production

The environmental benefits of organic and local food production are not clear-cut, according to a report by Manchester Business School for DEFRA.

The report – The Environmental Impact of Food Production and Consumption – considered the environmental consequences of food production from “the farm to the fork”. 

Other effects, such as social or economic, which might be good reasons for buying organic or locally-produced foods were not covered.

Report findings included:

*       the environmental benefits of organic food production are not clear-cut

*       there is no clear evidence in environmental terms to support locally-sourced rather than globally-sourced shopping.  For some foods, global sourcing might be a better option for the environment;

*       the impact of car-based shopping by individual consumers is greater than the impact of transport within the food production distribution system

*       the impact of packaging on food is difficult to quantify because the disposal of that packaging varies within the UK (eg discard rates by consumers and recycling/ recovery policies in different local authorities)

The report looked at the full environmental impact of 150 top-selling food items, as identified by one of the UK‘s leading retailers, from cultivation, through transport and processing and to their consumption by an individual. 

Seven food groups were considered:  basic carbohydrate foods, fruit and vegetables, dairy products, meat products, fish and other basic protein foods, drinks – alcoholic and non-alcoholic, and mixed products, snacks and other items.

For each food group the report considered environmental impacts including their effect on water in the area (both usage and pollution), energy use for cultivation, global warming potential, impacts arising from nutrient releases, processing impacts, refrigeration and packaging impacts.

It found that many organic products did have less of an environmental impact than their conventional counterparts, but it was not possible to say this for all foods.

For example, organic milk production appeared to require less energy input but used more land than conventional production. It also gives rise to higher emissions of greenhouse gases, acid gases and eutrophying substances per unit of milk produced.

Professor Ken Green, project director, said: “This is the first time such a comprehensive review of the available evidence has been carried out in the UK, and it highlights some challenging problems that DEFRA will need to consider in their development of policies for sustainable food production and consumption.

“If you are concerned about the ‘carbon footprint’ of foods, there can be good case for importing some of them (eg tomatoes or lamb) even if they can be grown in the UK.  The evidence available so far shows that ‘local’ is not always the best option for the environment.”

The report is available on the Sustainable Consumption and Production page of DEFRA’s website.

What do you think about the report? Why not comment on the Food For Thought blog?

 

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