“Think green, buy local” has long been the mantra of the more environmentally conscious consumer, but the idea is now firmly established in the minds of the masses. The demand for locally sourced products is increasing sharply and retailers are responding accordingly. But is the solution that simple?
Last month, Tesco pledged to more than double sales of local products by 2011. The UK’s largest retailer expects to sell£400 million of local produce this year, rising to£1 billion by 2011. Launching the initiative at the National Farmers’ Union Conference, Tesco executive director Lucy Neville-Rolfe urged farmers to capitalise on consumers’ desire to buy locally produced and environmentally friendly food.
The present preoccupation with food miles is at the centre of the surge in demand for local food. Research carried out by grocery organisation IGD found that consumers’ concern over food miles has nearly doubled in the past five years. It also revealed that 16 per cent of Britons now cite food miles as a major concern, compared with just 9 per cent in 2003.
The Co-operative Group local sourcing manager Andy Maclachlen believes that, alongside provenance and traceability, the environment is very much at the forefront of customers’ minds when choosing local produce. “The reduction on food miles – people pick up on that. And that goes for produce from the whole of the UK too. People’s perception is that at least it comes from this country,” he says.
It might seem like an obvious equation that if you buy food from thousands of miles away, the transport alone must consume vast amounts of energy and thus fuel climate change. But there are other factors at play too. The concept of food miles does not take into account the amount of carbon produced during the production and retail process, and can therefore be a misleading indicator for customers.
Many now point to what is known as a lifecycle assessment of food products. This aims to encapsulate the entire environmental impact of the product from farm to fork – incorporating growth, transportation, sale and consumption.
Upon revealing the results of the research last month, IGD chief executive Joanne Denney-Finch said: “The food miles debate has helped reignite our interest in where food comes from and how it is produced, but food miles don’t tell the whole story about the environmental impact of food and drink products.”
Maclachlen agrees that consumer interest in local food has benefits, but also acknowledges that local does not necessarily equal greener. “It’s not always better for the environment, but it certainly helps,” he says.
Critics say the notion of food miles over-simplifies the issue and there is a danger that consumers will reject products such as fair-trade goods on the grounds of how far they have travelled, when goods produced closer to home may even lead to higher emissions. By their nature, fair-trade schemes promote sustainable agricultural practices and, with fair-trade premiums, farmers’ organisations have the opportunity to invest in their own environmental programmes, such as recycling, tree planting and installing solar lighting.
And, environmental concerns aside, is it ethical to take away shelf space from fair-trade goods? The Co-operative Group environment adviser Kirstie Hawkins says: “It’s not carbon at all costs for the Co-op – we’re very interested in socially responsible delivery. To take away from developing countries when we created the market is hugely irresponsible.”
But weighed against the desire to promote fair trade is the desire to help local businesses thrive and grow. Helping local businesses develop often means helping them expand out of their locality – sending goods further and further away from the point of production. As Maclachlen says: “Part of working with local suppliers is helping them grow and part of that is increasing distribution where applicable.”
Waitrose has a strong association with local food in consumers’ minds. It launched its local and regional sourcing initiative seven years ago, which now includes more than 1,400 product lines and achieved sales growth of 60 per cent year on year in 2007. All Waitrose’s fresh chicken, beef and pork (including that sold as sausages), venison, duck and goose is British. And most of its lamb is produced in the UK, while 80 per cent of its bacon is British.
The primary motivation for the project is maintaining the supermarket chain’s strong reputation for fresh, quality food. However, it also pays close attention to the environmental issues associated with its production. It runs regular workshops for its farmers to help them keep on top of new techniques and environmental issues, and works closely with lobby group Linking Environment and Farming. It says its local sourcing initiative provides an opportunity for farmers to better use their crops grown on a smaller scale, outside of the rotation of their usual crops.
Loose definitions
A farmers’ market definition of local food is that sourced within 60 miles. Tesco, however, simply defines local produce as coming within the relevant country in its latest push to sell more of this category.
And Asda’s concept of local is something of a moveable feast. Asda local sourcing manager Wendy Hey says: “There is no exact definition. To us, it is sourcing that is locally relevant to a store. We look at it on a store-by-store basis. Some products may be relevant to a larger region than others.”
A review of the Government’s role in supporting sustainable supermarket food by the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) called for a definition of what constitutes a local food product. The research found much confusion and ambiguity: local in some cases could mean within 30, 50 or even 200 miles of a store. And is it just manufactured locally, or made from locally sourced ingredients too? Is it low carbon?
SDC commissioner professor Tim Lang insists it should be the Government’s responsibility to lead on this issue. “Government needs to get a grip and clarify what it is. There is a danger of the notion of locally produced food being brought into disrepute,” he says.
He adds that a lack of a common standard is holding retailers back. “The Government needs to set a level playing field,” he says. “It’s an example of where retailers are being held back by the lack of a standard set of assumptions. Asda claims it has a higher percentage of local produce – it can’t resolve that on its own.”
Confusion can also arise where products are manufactured locally, but ingredients are sourced from further afield. Maclachlen says: “We tend to push for provenance to be really traceable – not just manufactured locally.” However, he is sceptical about the benefits of having a prescriptive definition of local. “I still think common sense comes into play – I wouldn’t like to pigeonhole,” he adds.
Even looking beyond food miles and energy use in production, there are many hidden environmental costs that are never visible to the consumer, but that responsible businesses should be taking into account.
BT Commercial & Brands managing director Laurie Bowen says: “If you’ve not looked at all the suppliers you’ve worked with, you risk getting a bad press. Retailers often look at environmental sourcing from the point of view of merchandise, but omit things like IT.”
Bowen points out that, in her experience, relative to their counterparts in the US, UK retailers often don’t have a plan when it comes to sourcing IT ethically.
Retailers are rightly upping their local sourcing in response to UK consumers’ increasing appetite for such products. But they must be wary that closer does not always equate to greener. And, as the public’s awareness inevitably grows, more and more questions will need to be answered.
Clean farming – A greener compromise?
An agricultural body has been formed in Spain with the aim of offering a sustainable low-carbon, low-pesticide and low-cost farming method on a massive scale.
Hortyfruta, a government-funded body representing 20,000 producers in Andalucia, has set a target of ensuring 100 per cent of produce grown in the region is produced in this way. It claims the method will bring the benefits of organic produce into the mainstream.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) reduces harmful residues on fruit and vegetables exported to the UK, cuts pesticide use and significantly reduces the use of artificial light and heat. It favours biological pest controls such as predatory mites and bugs. Some chemicals are used, but use is restricted to certain times of the year. The end product also fulfils the Western world’s need for fruit and vegetables to be standardised in terms of shape and colour. The fresh produce is shipped to the UK, rather than air-freighted.
The Andalucian regional government is channelling 300 million (£229.4 million) into the initiative, including offering financial incentives to encourage the rapid uptake of clean farming throughout the region.
Asda: case study
The supermarket giant is testing ways to lower its carbon emissions through local-sourcing initiatives.The chilled food team has been working on producing food using renewable energy. The first product to hit the shelves was Respectful Eggs. The eggs are free range, but are thought to have about half the carbon footprint of standard free-range eggs. Laid in Lincolnshire, they are produced in poultry farms powered by renewable energy from wind turbines and solar panels. The power needed for lighting, feeding and egg collection contributes to a large part of each egg’s carbon footprint.
Separately, the grocer’s citrus suppliers have also switched production from Brazil to Spain, slashing C02 emissions.
No comments yet