The Kenya High Commission in the United Kingdom will hold a debate entitled “Are food miles fair miles? Is locally grown produce really more environmentally fit than African imports?” at the International Centre as part of The Royal Agricultural Show in Warwickshire. Expected guest speakers will include the Hon. Kipruto Rono Arap Kirwa, minister of agriculture, Kenya, Grace Akumu, Climate Network Africa’s executive director, and Tony Colman, director of Africa practice and councillor for the World Future Council.
The debate, which will take place on July 2, at 3pm, will look at whether food miles used by the import of fresh produce from Africa is justified because it provides sustainable incomes for up to one million workers on the continent.
Following widespread concern about the impact of carbon emissions on our climate, campaigns to persuade consumers in the UK to buy locally produced food are gaining momentum. Airfreight of fresh fruits and vegetables from sub-Saharan Africa accounts for approximately 0.1 per cent of total UK carbon emissions, far less than the emissions produced by the transport of food goods within Britain.
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