There are a wide range of perspectives on what constitutes a more environmentally friendly approach when it comes to food & drink. These range  from recycling plastic bags at the supermarket, to adopting a full vegan diet. Our intention at Green & Easy is to try to set out some information to help you make a more informed choice that fits with your own lifestyle and preferences.
When considering the environmental impact of food and drink, there are two main areas to consider:
- Embedded energy cost - how much energy has been consumed to grow the product and how much energy is then consumed in transporting it to your plate. The natural assumption is that locally grown products will have lower embedded energy costs than those which have come from further afield - particularly if its from the other side of the world. In most cases this is a good rule of thumb - but it is not always that clear cut.
Take lamb for example: British lamb has to be the more environmentally friendly choice than New Zealand Lamb - right? well not neccessarily. Obviously the transport related energy costs from field to shelf will be lower, but it has also been calculated that a lot more energy consumption is associated with raising the lambs in the UK than it is in New Zealand (read more here). Green house gas emissions of sea transport are relatively low so the nett effect could be that the UK lamb actually has higher embedded energy costs!
The energy 'costs' associated with the growing of products also become significant when the products are not indigenous to the UK, as this usually means artificial climates have to be created to mimic warmer climates and higher levels of sunlight - both of which naturally mean additional energy consumption.
- Cultivation & packaging: The environmental impact of chemicals or processes used during growing plus the manufacture and disposal of packaging used to transport and present the product to consumers. Many of the fertilizers and treatments applied to fruit and vegetables, or treatments given to farm animals contain chemicals that leech into the eco-system Organic food that is certified by the Soil Association (full details on certification can be found here) will have been grown without these being applied and is also guaranteed to be GM free.
Packaging can create harmful emissions in its' manufacture as well as presenting a disposal problem if it is neither bio-degradble or recycleable.
What about the Fair Trade label? The Fair Trade label (click here for details) is an independent consumer label which appears on products as a guarantee that disadvantaged producers in the developing world are getting a better deal. As a result food or drink that carries the Free Trade accreditation does not necessarily have a bearing on its environmental impact.
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