"Food miles" (or "food kilometres"!) are the distance food
travels from the farm to your plate. The concept is used to
underline how far many foods are transported through global
trade and the costs of this transport, in economic, social, and
environmental terms. When foods are transported long distances,
they tend to lose taste and nutrient value because of the time
and conditions in transit. Transport also consumes fuel and
releases pollution. Freight transport is a key source of
greenhouse gas emissions, which are a cause of global warming.
Food kilometres for a particular product can be calculated by
finding out all the locations a food is imported from along with
how much comes from each location. With this information, along
with the transport distance from each of those locations, you
can calculate an average distance the product travels when it is
imported. Combine this distance with information on greenhouse
gas emissions (e.g., per tonne per kilometre) and you have a
good idea of just what the pollu