There’s this organic carrot, and it’s doing my head in. It’s a nice carrot, as
carrots go: fat, orange, with feathery green tufts on top. It has lived a
blameless life in a field of joy, innocent of pesticides and artificial
fertilisers. And now, here it is in the supermarket, rooting me on to take
it home.
Only, here’s the thing: the carrot is from Israel. That’s nearly 2,500 miles
away. If I buy it, I will take on its carbon footprint, garnishing every
mouthful with the greenhouse gas that it has splurged into the atmosphere to
be here today.
Can I live with that? Does the carrot’s organic worthiness trump the fact that
it is has amassed more air miles than an MP on an international fact-finding
mission? Or should I let it rot for thoughtlessly contributing to the
destruction of the planet?
You see my problem. I’m food confused. And not just about vegetables. Fruit,
meat, dairy – these days, everything is fraught with ethical complications.
If I tried to follow all of them, I’d end up an oxygenarian – one of those
people who eat nothing but air. The “good” food choices have proliferated
like salmonella in an Edwina Currie egg – organic, Fairtrade, locally grown,
free range, boutique, the Leaf mark, Red Tractor, Freedom Food, farm assured
– some important, others just marketing spin. How am I meant to know what
comes first in the pecking order?
Some choices are straightforward. Processed food clearly puts you on the fast
track to hell. As for animal welfare, I won’t eat anything that hasn’t had
weekly spa treatments. But organic? I used to think it was a no-brainer:
good for the planet (no energy wasted on fertilisers and pesticides); good
for the soil (it works with nature, rather than against it); good for the
creatures that inhabit furrow and field (livestock, wildlife, farmers). It
is also, arguably, good for us.
But when food miles enter the equation, organic quickly loses its halo.
Getting an organic New Zealand apple from the tree to your lunchbox releases
235 times as much carbon as it saves. How depressing is that? And that’s
before you even think about seasonality. We shouldn’t be eating apples in
June, but we have turned luxuries into necessities, demanding strawberries
in midwinter and nectarines in spring.
Of course, there are some things (citrus fruit, pineapples, bananas) that
don’t grow in Britain, and I would be the last to suggest we could do
without them. I’m also not sure I could survive without spices, olives, tea
and coffee. But there have to be limits, such as not flying blueberries from
Chile in December. And where do food miles and seasonality leave fair trade?
Supporting Ethiopian coffee growers is one thing, but should we really be
importing pears from South Africa, however benevolent our intentions?
Home-grown is no less problem-filled: your Isle of Wight tomatoes were
probably grown in a greenhouse that burns more energy than a Chinese power
station, and that supermarket potato has been taken by lorry to the other
end of the country to be washed and packed. Sometimes it seems as if
supermarkets set traps for unwary ecoshoppers. You know those fruit and veg
packets with a picture of a happy supplier on the front – farmer Ted from
Hampshire with his organic fruit? Turns out they aren’t always from his farm
at all. Sometimes they aren’t even from his country.
Still, at least you know where you are with meat and dairy. Stick to organic
and free range, and you can’t go wrong. Except that farm animals happen to
be huge contributors to global warming. A field of farting cows produces
enough centrally heated methane to drown out the sound of the icecaps
crumbling. Then there’s all the packaging, the energy-hungry refrigeration,
the distance between farm, slaughterhouse and supermarket depot.
A brilliant book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, by the American journalist Michael
Pollan, poses this dilemma: “When you can eat everything, what do you choose
to eat?” Pollan works his way along the different food chains in the States,
from the longest (which stretches from the cornfields of the Midwest through
intensive cattle farming and processing plants to the fast-food outlets that
blight every town and city in the country) to the shortest – a modern
hunter-gathering mission in northern California, on which he shoots his own
wild boar, harvests morels in the hills, picks cherries from the streets of
San Francisco and makes bread with wild yeast captured from the air. In
between, there is “big” organic – operations such as the American organic
supermarket Whole Foods Market – and small-scale organic, local growers
supplying local people and local businesses. The hunter-gathering wins hands
down, although Pollan admits it’s not that practical on a daily basis. Local
organic comes a close second.
Pollan has thought about what he eats; he has looked at the contradictions and
worked out what matters. It’s probably pretty similar to what most of us
want – food that tastes good and makes us happy, without troubling either
our conscience or our health. The difference is that he has done something
about it. We can blame the supermarkets and producers, but ultimately the
responsibility for what we eat lies with us. The choices are confusing, and
there is no perfect solution. But the worst thing we can do is do nothing.
There is a movement in America called the Locavores – people who eat, wherever
possible, a diet harvested within a 100-mile radius (in cities, we’re
talking farmers’ markets, allotments, small shops that prioritise local
producers). Locavores have a mantra: “If not locally produced, then organic.
If not organic, then family farm. If not family farm, then local business.
If not local business, then fair trade.” I would add a line at the
beginning: “If not local organic, then locally produced.” But I’ve decided
the Locavore code of priorities is going to be my way through the food
confusion.
That Israeli carrot will just have to go home with someone else.
WHAT IT ALL MEANS
A ‘GOOD’ FOOD JARGON BUSTER
ORGANIC
Crops are grown without conventional insecticides and artificial fertilisers.
Poultry and livestock are raised without the use of growth hormones and with
only limited use of antibiotics. There are also strict welfare controls. It
takes at least two years for a farmer to get organic certification, which in
Britain is awarded predominantly by the Soil Association. The downside?
Research suggests that organic food may be no better nutritionally than
nonorganic, although the jury is still out on the hidden health benefits of
chemical-free farming.
FREE RANGE Applies to meat, poultry and eggs. At best, it means animals are
allowed to roam free and graze as they would naturally. In practice,
free-range chickens can experience anything from a blissful existence
grubbing in the soil to a life crammed in a barn with thousands of other
birds, with only an occasional foray into the open air. In Britain, the main
stipulation is that a free-range chicken must have continuous daytime access
to open-air runs during at least half its life. Too vague to be totally
trustworthy.
FREEDOM FOOD
Set up by the RSPCA, Freedom Food is all about animal welfare. It applies to
eggs, meat, poultry, fish and dairy. All farm animals under the Freedom Food
scheme must be reared according to strictly monitored RSPCA standards
covering every stage of an animal’s life, from how it is fed to how it is
slaughtered.
FAIRTRADE
Covers everything from fruit, coffee and tea to spices and wine. Awarded to
products that guarantee fair pay and conditions to workers in the developing
world, as well as supporting smallholder cooperatives. Ethically right on,
but heavy on the food miles.
LEAF
Stands for Linking Environment and Farming. Not organic, but promotes
environmentally aware and sustainable farming, whether in the UK or abroad.
Clear-sighted about the dilemma involved in supporting developing-world
farmers, but also an enthusiastic supporter of local producers.
RED TRACTOR
Run by Assured Food Standards, the Red Tractor applies to meat, fruit, veg,
flour, sugar and dairy. Representing everyone from farmers to retailers, it
aims to raise standards in British farming, from hygiene and safety to
animal welfare and the environment. However, it scores poorly against the
animal-welfare measures of the animal-rights group Compassion in World
Farming.
You could start by not confusing organics with global warming. People don't generally prefer organic food on the basis that it reduces carbon emissions, so how on earth do you come up with a statement like "Getting an organic New Zealand apple from the tree to your lunchbox releases 235 times as much carbon as it saves. " Compared to what?
You could then consider some facts. Apples trucked across Europe in exhaust-belching trucks? Shipping has minimal emissions per kilo - apples shipped from New Zealand have less embodied carbon emissions than those trucked from Italy.
Gerald, Edinburgh,
"Organic Certification" is simply a way for people to get their farmer to behave without actually going to the farm. If you want food grown properly, you have to either take the responsibility upon yourself, or pay someone to certify it for you.
"Good" food (environmentally and otherwise) is that which provides the most benefit to the most people FOR THE LONGEST TIME. Petroleum cannot do this, so other methods are required. The immediate idea that we can feed everyone everything they want is also flawed, whether through petroleum or not.
We are approaching a solid wall with a tiny hole to the future. Those that can survive by cooperating or simplifying will fit through the hole. Oil tankers will not.
Good luck, and may our children forgive our waste.
Dan, Belgium, USA/WI
Don't worry, your troubles will soon be over. Our leaders have decided that because all weather is caused by CO2 and burning fuel is wrong, the only sane course of action is to burn food instead. Once we have diverted our entire wheat production into biofuel as required by the EU, and have to buy wheat on a world market where prices are soaring due to a global deficit, you'll be eating whatever you can get your hands on, and paying whatever is demanded.
Still, it could be worse. If the solar theorists are right in their suspicion that the imminent solar minimum will see global temperatures plummeting (along with food production), your fancy 'ethical' dilemmas will soon look incredibly quaint, not to say decadent. It's a good job the CO2 we produce helps to increase plant growth or we'd be in real trouble. Oh, wait..
John B, Middlesbrough, UK
1) i wouldn't buy israeli produce because of their apartheid against palestinians. 2) lets all forget the environment for a minute and think logically, so: i) if we don't consider resource usage we will run out of rescources; ii) if we eat food from a different region we will not get the benefit of nutrients from our own region that our bodies are historically used to; iii) if we eat produce that has been hormone injected and chemically sprayed on we will assimilate those chemicals into our bodies; iv) if we eat processed produce, stripped of even one of the nutrients it naturally contains, then the natural balance of nutrients will be affected. 3) too many people are prepared to take tablets/pills/medicines religiously, but when it comes to food seem to think that it is somebody else's responsibility to ensure they are adequately nourished (let alone considering the medicinal aspects so inherent in Eastern cultures, and in Europe before the Christians killed the pagans).
geoff, london,
Organic Food is food that is made using only impure chemicals. 'Free Range' is an anthropomorphic concept which assumes that animals are like people and do not like to be confined. This is true of, say, wolves, but is not true of, say, hens. FairTrade is a way of privileging one set of 'Third World' producers over another, based on branding.
I'm sorry to be such a sourpuss, but really we just have retailers exploiting food-faddism to make greater profits.
Frank Upton, Solihull,
I think your mantra sounds pretty good. I'd add a line, "Restrict the amount of animal products consumed", but when it comes to a choice between tofu from South America or cheese from England, I haven't done the maths.
And then there's the choice between canned pulses and dried ones - I have no idea which is better from a carbon point of view. I generally go for dried, as they're easier to carry home on the bicycle, have better texture, and are slightly cheaper. But that pretty much excludes organic. Hmmm.
Jenny, London,
For Billy from London:
As far as the health of the children is concerned, there's really very little to choose. Non organic products nowadays are safe, the amount of chemicals is way below the danger zone, and organic methods are not as effective in controlling natural poisons, like aflatoxines . The real difference in favour of organic foods is felt in the countryside where product is grown, not in your child's plate. What you must be watchful of with schoolmeals, is byological, not chemical, risk factors. All goes and all's well so long as cook remembers to wash his/her hands carefully after having a pee, doesn't cough in the children's soup, doesn't mix the soup with the spoon he used to fill the tomatoes before cooking them, and so forth.
Anna, Modena,
Just ignore all the fuss about food miles, and where its come from and whether its organic or not and eat what you like so long as its healthy, not high in fat and you get your five a day in.
If you listen to everything everyone says about foods you will starve.
Also we must continue to buy foods imported from the third world. The food miles thing is rubbish created by the global warming hysterical scare mongerers. These countries rely on our custom and the farmers rely on us for their income. If we stop buying these things, they will be affected by a total loss of income and suffer accordingly long before any global warming affects them.
Having said all that those organic carrots with the tops left on do taste a lot better than the normal ones.
Anon, London,
Some people are so cynical. Global warming will effect folks in Africa (and arguably is responsible for severe droughts and death already) far more than whether you buy their fair trade goods. I don't think most feel smug - one knows it's a small drop in the ocean compared to what else is going on...but at least it's a start.
To the order of priority one could include 'seasonal'...
John, Sandwich, UK
Misses the point about ethical food - it's about making the shopper feel smug and superior, not saving the planet/food miles/fair trade at all. Interesting thinking revealed though... for the 'ethical' shopper free trade (helping the poor) comes lower on the scale of worthiness than cutting food miles. Personal halos more important than human suffering. Hope the halos slip and start strangling people soon.
Dr G. Fincham, Norwich, UK
nobody has mentioned children, school meals etc........I'd love to hear views on this.
billy, london, london
Very evocative and true column. It's too compliacted to shop for food. For 27 years I have been an animal loving vegetarian. I have been proud for being ethical. Recently, I am told by friends and pundits that my food choices are unethical because what I buy was not produced anywhere local and too much toxic fuel was used to transport them. Give me a break. I don't eat meat, pork, poultry, lamb, fish or any dead creatures. Nonetheless, the food police call me "unethical".
Brien Comerford, Glenview, United States
If your that concerned, you could always grow your own food. Make a "Victory Garden" as it was known years ago.
Chris Donahue, Auburn, NY, USA
We *demanded* strawberries in winter and nectarines in spring? Nobody demanded anything! The supermarkets and growers realised it COULD be done, and that a revenue stream could be maintained because people would buy, so it happened.
Mike Ball, portsmouth, U.K.
hey sue, agree with the sentiments but what's this with the housewife business? I have a house but am not a wife and i work full time. And what about the men, do they not need the same kind of education as the poor housewife? I suppose they're sat at the table with a black look on their faces because tea's not on the table...
EJ Broadbent, salford,
Lucus Organic food is a giantconsumer con trick.
'Crops are grown without conventional insecticides' Organic farmers are allowed to use a range of toxic pesticides but they hide behind the 'traditional' label. Organic potatoes can only be grown with the use of Bordeaux mixture, just about the most toxic and persistant pesticide known. The plants are plastered with the stuff. It persistas in the soil for over 3 years.
'Poultry and livestock are raised without the use of growth hormones' no animals grown for food in the EU have ever been exposed to artificial hormones. This is a scare story.
Eating organic is an act of faith, and like most faiths it is expensive.
Paul, Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire
True enough, confusion reigns, about what we eat. I am reminded ,of how my Mother and Father, raised our family, and review what our diet consisted of. Most all extended family, had a similiar diet, and most family members, have beat the stats on aging. Therefore, I eat what I did as a kid, and buy locally raised ,whenever possible. I try and avoid items from countries, with dubious standards, ie. China, Mexico, all of latin America, save Chile. We of course are learning, corporations buy ingrediants from anywhere, and then process into the final product. This is difficult to find out about.
Dan Green, palm beach gardens, US/Florida
yes, i am all for buying from farms etc. but i live in a town, dont drive and dont stand a chance in hell of getting to these farm shops. if i could it would be in the middle of the country accessable by car (which neither my husband or myself have) and to get a bus is sometimes out of the question as they only run every 2-3 hours. some places in my area only get a bus service 2-3 times a week. we are over run by supermarkets. we have a choice of 4 in a very small area. come on towns and cities, let the small business man back to give us our fish and veg.
jean, bucks, uk
As to big Supermarkets versus Small Shops. Remember the Bible Story of David and Goliath.
The Housewife is the person in this situation with the biggest influence in this area. The big Supermarkets and the small Shops are only as good as her choice of goods wants them to be. If the British Housewife wasent so fussy and dident go so much for the look of a vegatable or product then we would all be a lot better off. Why do i need clingfilm on my Turnip/cucumber/cabbage.Educate the British housewife not to be so fussy. eg. buy her tatties with growth cracks or a bit of black scab both can be cut out and neither does the tattie any harm. demand her cucumber/turnip/cabbage ect without pckaging.Refuse to buy fruit in bags ect and see the difference we all can make.Its up to all of us.We are all so good at shouting thatwe are confused and blaming the Superstores. How about us all taking stock and doing what WE can to make the situation better. I feel thats the only way forward.
Sue Lamb, Alyth/Blairgowrie, Scotland
I would like some hints on how to shop ethically without this wrecking my family budget. So far supermarkets and the town market has been my only solution. Thank you.
Teo Graham, Cambridge,
I have a set of simple rules which I endeavour to follow.
Avoid supermarkets. Use farm shops, farmers markets and local shops - you get better service and can build up a relationship with your supplier. Make shopping into an enjoyable slow relaxed part of your week.
Only buy organic if its local or British.
Learn to cook. It's a great hobby and just as quick.
Buy locally grown fruit and veg whenever possible. If it grows in this country then eat it in its season at it's best, but don't buy it when it is not in season and has to be imported from overseas, it will probably have no flavour anyway. Fruit and veg which does not grow in Britain and is always imported such as peaches I buy during the traditional seasons they were available in the past - eg in the summer and not in the winter.
Don't overstock your fridge - use everything. A chicken makes 2 meals at least - roast one day and stock for soup or risotto the next.
Overall you will eat better be happier.
Linda, Kingsbridge, Devon
Just stay away from supermarkets where possible. They produce more wasted food, more packaging and burn more energy than anything else we use in day to day life. In fact just walking into a supermarket increases you carbon footprint 10fold. I try to buy everytrhing from my local market, which isn't practical all of the time, but the meat, fish, bread, veg and deli stuff is far superior, with less packaging, better service and no carrier bags (unless you pay). Unfortunately throughout the country) small communities and shops have been swallowed up by huge supermarkets (within 10 miles I can count 12 food mega stores), whom have no restrictions on the times they open, and an almost monopoly on the supply of milk and alcohol (my one weakness!). Unfortunately there is no way to fight them, and although they promise choice, eventually they restrict it and raise the prices leaving the customer to buy grade 2 grapes from Peru. The future's bright, it's full of fluorescent tubes.
Stephen Green, Telford, Shropshire
I am always troubled by this term "demand". Buying a nectarine that happens to be on sale is not the same as demanding it be on sale. If it were not on sale it would not even cross my mind, for example, that it ought to be. Consumer demand seems to be just marketing jargon to justify whatever a producer/manufacturer/retailer wants to sell to make a profit regardless of the consequences.
Peter, Cambridge,