Researchers urge us to buy locally.

Scientists in the Centre for Environment and Society and Department of Biological Sciences, in collaboration with City University , have calculated the environmental cost of food production, its distribution and how we get to and from the shops.

Professor Jules Pretty and Dr James Morison from Essex, and Professor Tim Lang of City University , have found that more that £4 billion a year of environmental costs could be saved if farmers grew organically and if consumers shopped for local produce.

Their argument centres on the concept of ‘food miles' which refers to the distance travelled by produce between the farm and our homes.

Professor Pretty explained: ‘If all our food came from within 20km of where we live, we could save £2.1 billion a year in environmental and congestion costs. And, if we all left our cars at home and travelled to the supermarket by bus, bicycle or on foot, these savings would amount to a further £1.1 billion.

‘Lastly, the costs to the environment could be cut from £1.5 billion a year to less than £400 million if all farms in Britain were to follow organic principles. However, food miles are more important than we thought and buying local is more important than buying green. It's better to buy a local lettuce than an organic one from the other side of Europe .'

Article from Wyvern Magazine May 2005