Food sector targeted on food mile costs
Manufacturers and retailers have been called upon to submit plans for a 20% reduction in the environmental and social costs of food transport by 2012 in the government's draft Food Industry Sustainability Strategy (FISS).
The plans, to be submitted next year, have been given greater urgency by the publication of new research* by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) showing a 15% rise in food miles over the past 10 years alone.
The research shows that the food industry is responsible for a large part of the £9bn annual cost to the nation of food transport through road congestion, road accidents, climate change, noise and air pollution. Food transport now accounts for 25% of all heavy goods vehicle (HGV) kilometres in the UK.
DEFRA's head of food and drink Callton Young said: "We are engaging with industry in what is a very long journey."
More than half of the costs (£5bn) estimated in the study, carried out on behalf of DEFRA by AEA Technology, are due to road congestion. Consumers travel an average of 898 miles a year by car to shop for food and the quantity of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) has doubled since 1974. Urban food kilometres increased 27% between 1992 and 2002.
While the contribution from HGVs has decreased in recent years due to more efficient loading and routing of vehicles, including more backhauling - where retailer vehicles collect from manufacturers on the return journey from supermarkets to their regional distribution centres - this trend is unlikely to continue. "It is not clear how long that [trend] can be sustained," said Jim Holding, a statistician with DEFRA.
The Food and Drink Federation has expressed concern about the focus on industry food miles in the FISS. "As food miles eat into profit, companies, in co-operation with their customers, have already created an extremely fuel efficient and low polluting supply chain and will therefore find it difficult to make further reductions," said the FDF.
While air freighted food is a small proportion of the costs, it is rising rapidly having more than doubled over the past 10 years as more fruit and vegetables are sourced from around the world. However, sea transport - the usual route for import of ingredients - has a far lower impact.
Speaking at the launch of the report, Food minister Lord Bach said: "It shows that buying local products has the potential to greatly reduce the distance food is transported, but that the benefits can be offset by increased road congestion if they are supplied in a less transport efficient way."
On HGV movements he said: "I don't think we should take too much comfort from the fact that it has come down a bit."
The British Retail Consortium's food policy director Andrew Opie said: "A sustainable policy on the issue is one that balances the demands of consumers for a broad range of all year round, high quality, affordable foods with any impact this may have on the environment through transport."
*The validity of food miles as an indicator of sustainable development, DEFRA 2005
