© 2008 Taywell
Imports of indigenous foods topped 16m tonnes in 2002
Every tonne of food bought in the UK travels an average of 123km before it reaches the shop shelves, compared
to 82km in 1978
Britain imported £15bn more food than it exported in 2005, more than double 1997’s figure
95% of fruit and 50% of vegetables eaten in the UK are imported
For every £1 spent on an organic food box, £2.40 is contributed to the local economy whilst every £1 spent in a supermarket contributes £1.20
Sourcing all foods from within 20km of where they were consumed would save £2.1bn in environmental and
congestion costs
The further food has to travel, the longer it spends in transit. This results in a loss of vitamins and a decline in
nutritional values
Whilst well over 60% of the English apple orchards have been lost since the 1970’s, 400,000 tonnes of apples are imported every year
Every calorie of carrot flown to the UK from South Africa uses 66 calories of fuel
Air transport accounts for 1% of food miles, but 11% of food mile CO2 emissions
In a lunch of Australian beef, Italian tomatoes, Thai runner beans, South African carrots, Guatemalan broccoli and
fruit from the USA and New Zealand, the ingredients have travelled 49,000 miles
Since 1978 the amount of food moved about by HGV has increased by 23% and the average distance by 50%
In a survey carried out last year:
20% of people thought oranges were grown naturally in the UK
10% also believed that pineapples could be grown here
82% trusted locally produced food over imported
96% recognised that locally produced food helped support local producers
50% had no idea where the food they bought was produced
21% of 16-
that they were
28% understood the term ‘in season’ was when they could buy fruit or vegetables in a UK shop
60% would rather purchase local produce from a small shop/farm shop/farmers market than a supermarket
77% thought local food tasted better
In 2005, total income from British farming fell 61% since 1995
