Wkipedia definition

Foodmiles.com website

Food miles are defined as the distance food travels from where it is produced to where it is eaten. In many LEDCs people are subsistence farmers so only eat products that they have produced themselves. However, as countries develop people start expecting a greater variety of foods and they expect foods to be available all year. These changes in taste, coupled with the improvements in transport and refrigeration have drastically increased food miles.

It is possible to transport many food products by road, rail and ship as long as they have a long shelf life e.g. dry pasta, rice, tins, cereals, biscuits, wine, etc. However, it is necessary to transport perishable products like fruit and vegetables by air. Air is the most polluting form of transport and contributes significantly to the greenhouse effect. In the UK it is estimated that 1% of food is transported by air, but it accounts for over 11% of carbon emissions (http://www.soilassociation.org/).

However, some people say that it is far too simplistic just to look at the number of food miles when calculating the environmental impact of food. People argue that it is environmentally more sustainable to grow tomatoes in Spain than the UK because it is not necessary to heat greenhouses. It is also argued that it is better to grow rice in a tropical country like Vietnam than trying to grow it in the US. To look at a food’s entire environmental impact from planting to eating is known as life cycle analysis.

BBC – Food Miles

Land grab in Africa – the Guardian

90,000 Miles! The Astonishing Distance your Christmas dinner travels to your plate – Daily Mail Article

Food Miles: Don’t go the Distance – BBC article

Food Miles: Does Distance Matter – Independent article

Do Food Miles Make A Difference To Global Warming – Reuters

How the myth of food miles hurts the planet – The Guardian