Local and seasonal food

Overview

Local and seasonal food, food miles and their limits, Northern Ireland's protected foods, farmers' markets, and the benefits of local food to the economy and tourism.

What you need to know

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Questions from this subtopic

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1. 1

   What is locally produced food?

   Model answer

   Local food is grown, reared or made close to where it is sold. The UK has no legal definition, so a retailer may call food from a whole region or nation local.

2. 2

   Define seasonal food.

   Model answer

   Seasonal food is eaten at the time of year it naturally grows or is harvested in that area. Strawberries in summer and Bramley apples in autumn are seasonal in Northern Ireland.

3. 3

   Define the term food miles.

   Model answer

   Food miles are the distance food travels from where it is produced to the consumer. The measure says nothing about how the food was transported or grown.

4. 4

   Why can local food reduce greenhouse gas emissions?

   Model answer

   Local food travels shorter distances, often with less refrigerated storage along the way. Shorter supply chains also tend to need less packaging.

5. 5

   Why are food miles a poor guide to a food's total climate impact?

   Model answer

   Transport makes up only about 6% of food's emissions on average, according to Poore and Nemecek (2018). How food is produced matters far more than how far it travels.

6. 6

   Why might a tomato imported from Spain have a lower carbon footprint than one grown in the UK in winter?

   Model answer

   Spanish tomatoes ripen in natural sunshine. UK winter tomatoes need glasshouses heated with fossil fuel, which can outweigh the emissions from road transport.

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