Criticism
Though there are many reasons to prefer local food (for example freshness), the use of food miles as a strict purchasing metric has been criticized. For example, the carbon footprint of foods depends on much more than the distance travelled, including energy inputs of production. One study found that only 11% of food-related greenhouse gas emissions came from transport (and only 4% from delivery from producer to retailer), whereas 83% of GHG emissions came from food production. Animal products such as meat and dairy foods take considerably more energy to produce, meaning a vegetarian diet has a much lower carbon footprint, regardless of food miles. Fair trade advocates point out that the livelihoods of poor farmers can be greatly improved by giving them a global market which includes distant developed countries.
Further information: Food milesRead more about this topic: Local Food
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—Susan Sontag (b. 1933)