A leading think tank has thrown its views on the airfreight debate into the ring, urging supermarkets to stop being “carbon hypocrites” when it comes to their ethical policies.
The Food Ethics Council has warned that if too much airfreighted food is banned from the shelves of UK retailers, tens of thousands of livelihoods could be wiped out in Africa.
The organisation has indicated the greater carbon footprint of home-grown meat and dairy produce than of airfreighted food, because of the intensity of much UK farming, and has called on supermarkets to end “carbon hypocrisy”.
The report states: “Compared with the 0.3 per cent of total UK emissions associated with food airfreight, fresh fruit and vegetables in total account for 2.5 per cent, refrigeration for 3.5 per cent, alcoholic drinks for 1.5 per cent and meat and dairy for eight per cent.”
Much of sub-saharan Africa’s economy is reliant on shipping fresh food to western nations, warned the Food Ethics Council.
Explaining how their food policy can help lift poverty and reduce environmental impact could help retailers win over consumers, said the group.
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