What does food have to do with climate change?

Generally the greater the distance from paddock to plate, the greater the impact on the health of people, the land and the global climate. Increasingly, Australian supermarket shelves are being stocked with imported food: kiwifruit from Italy, oranges from Brazil.

A food mile is the distance food travels from where it is porduced to where it is purchased by the consumer.

Then there is the distance travelled by fertilisers, herbicides, pesticides, fodder, containers, farm machinery etc. Processed or multiple ingredient food products frequently accumulate even more food miles.

The food purchased in this globalised system is not cheap - there are high costs for farmers, our environment and our health. Food freight, especially by air and road, consumes vast amounts of fuel and energy, and releases greenhouse gases contributing to global climate change. Add to this the environmental impacts of packaging and processing and the real costs of the weekly shopping can be much bigger than people might at first think.

CANWin and affiliated groups are committed to increasing local food biodiversity:

• Community Gardens: There are demonstration gardens where skills can be shared. Contact Harmony Farm and the Moss Vale Community Garden to find out how you can participate.

• (Real) Farmers markets: Despite the dominance of supermarkets, there’s a major revival of farmers markets . They bring farmers better prices, the food is fresher and cheaper and shoppers interact with the people who grow their food.

• Organic agriculture systems wherever possible. Research has revealed that organic methods remove substantial amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by converting it into beneficial soil organic matter.

• Animal friendly (non-intensive) farming practices.

• Local food co-ops: a great way to access affordable bulk goods and non-perishable produce with minimal waste.

• Home food gardening & seed saving: You don’t need a lot of space to start a simple kitchen garden, growing and saving open-pollinated, non-hybrid vegetables and herbs. An edible landscape is more interesting – and tastier – than lawn. Growing fruit and vegetables teaches children – and their parents and teachers – the attitudes of care and respect needed to sustain life.

• Skills sharing on bottling and drying food produce.

At the same time we will save water. David Holmgren, co-founder of permaculture, says backyard growers use only one fifth of the water to grow food as commercial growers use.

When you eat or shop remember the LOAF principles, seeking where possible food that is:

• Local
  
• Organic
  
• Animal friendly
• Fairly Traded

really reduce food miles by producing your own food