Neither the World Trade Organisation nor national government can, will or care enough to solve this problem.

The most powerful body on earth is consumers; only they can exert sufficient pressure to influence these ridiculous practices.

Unfortunately consumers are not organised and anyway have their own agendas.

One day, when it is far, far too late (not long now) everyone (including perhaps Angela Simpson of Bristol whllst counting her precious profits, quoting the legal and ignoring the moral) will realise that there is only one world and we have destroyed it.

R Bingham, Lauzun, France

This is precisely what is wrong with globalism and why the anti-capitalist troops riot.
Wages in the west are slow pegged to gradually degrade them to third world levels. It gets dressed in fancy speak that we have to compete in the global economy. Well, you can't compete with China or India unless you work as hard as them. have their living standards or receive their wages.
There is no defence apart from protectionism which is forbidden by W.T.O
If British workers don't like it the government will just replace them with Chinese coolies.
What is needed is for the state to control capitalism, protect its workers and environment. Not the other way round and stuff the British worker and the environment.

Keith Bentham, Wigan, Lancashire

Taxing aviation fuel would put and end to this overnight.

wayne, huntingdon, cambs

In answer to Lynn, I don't think cholesterol is really an issue with prawns, see this site, although it isn't a disinterested party, from what I know it seems to be fairly accurate.
http://www.shellfish.org.uk/shellfish_diet.htm

However, prawns are filter feeders, so from what I understand the real issue is the amount of toxins they may have absorbed through their feeding practices. I have heard that this is only an issue if the prawns are uncooked.. Anyway, I guess the key is everything in moderation!

Sue, Islington, UK

I wouldn't say this is due to the minimum wage as much as it is to the lack of a global economic standard...'realists' such as Angela in Bristol, by sticking to their 'must make a profit' line, fail to answer the essential question - is it right?

Is it right that we are sending food thousands of miles, using fuel that could be put to other purposes, to save a few pence in production costs on a packet of frozen shrimp?

Is it right that we choose to take advantage of lower labour costs in foreign countries, rather than paying what would be a liveable wage in our own?

Profits be damned...they've stood in the way of integrity long enough.

Phil Stott, New York,

My husband was told that eating prawns can increase cholesterol levels : I myself personally love the stuff can't get enough of it. My husband refuses to eat them now. Can you point me in the right direction, I am sure eating it at least 2-3 times per will not do you any harm.

LYN WYNTER, london,

Look this is about the food we eat and our own health, not the economics. Do we really want to support such unhealthy practices? Look at the Matthews bird flu connection. Transporting high risk foods around the world for processing is a recipe for disaster, and i am sure it will come. Food is a basic human need and this gets forgotten if economics is the only consideration. However, looking at the economics the only reason it's cheaper is because the external costs to the environment the climate, are not paid by the companies in fuel tax etc. if they were it would probably still be cheaper to prepare food here.

Judy, Leamington, UK

Surely this is the ultimate in spin-doctoring. For the very party that decries our imperial heritage to allow us to foist our menial and manual work onto the 3rd world sweatshop industries is political hypocrisy of the worst kind. New labour really has forgotten its roots and adopted the capitalist mind-set.

It begs the obvious question of how much of the profits from this outsourcing found there way back into the labour party's coffers around election and honours list time?

KR, Stockport,

SECURITY

Has the Admiral read this article ?

Gut Liam, Hertford, England

Prawns sent to China - I presume frozen - then defrosted and shelled - then frozen again for the return journey.
Never mind the food miles what about all the refreezing of thawed food that we are told is such a health hazard.

G J BUNTON, SLOUGH, BERKSHIRE

This is due to the minimum wage, it is just to expensive to do the work in Britain. So what do you expect firms to do.

The government then brings out more laws to stop it happening and we move nearer to a dictatorship. why any company supports Labour is beyond me.

Johnny Norfolk, Norfolk, UK

I don't agree that the facts got in the way of a good story. Perhaps Mr Howell objects to the tone of the article which rightly downcries this practice. However, objective readers will understand that companies are forced, economically into this ridiculous ferrying of produce and it is the government which should be offering incentives and solutions to avoid it.

Alan Lawrence, Southampton, England

The well known expression "don't let the facts get in the way of a good story" could be applied to some of your "Hidden food miles of British produce". I own The Pilchard Works and carefully explained to your reporter that it was far more sensible to send our Cornish pilchards to Brittany to get canned-- 160 road miles and 110 nautical miles-- than it was to the only fish cannery left in the Britain which is in Scotland, 731 miles away. Apart from the fact that the fish quality is also better if we go overnight to France rather than taking the two days required by road in the UK. And the Bretons still use traditional production techniques, no longer used in the UK, that we need to achieve a particular taste.
There is also so much French produce coming top Britain that that we are able to get very good transport rates on the lorries to take our fish over there. I imagine a number of the other companies that you mention also use the same economic advantages to remain competitive.

Nick Howell, PENZANCE, CORNWALL

The well known expression "don't let the facts get in the way of a good story" could be applied to some of your "Hidden food miles of British produce". I own The Pilchard Works and carefully explained to your reporter that it was far more sensible to send our Cornish pilchards to Brittany to get canned-- 160 road miles and 110 nautical miles-- than it was to the only fish cannery left in the Britain which is in Scotland, 731 miles away. Apart from the fact that the fish quality is also better if we go overnight to France rather than taking the two days required by road in the UK. And the Bretons still use traditional production techniques, no longer used in the UK, that we need to achieve a particular taste.
There is also so much French produce coming top Britain that that we are able to get very good transport rates on the lorries to take our fish over there. I imagine a number of the other companies that you mention also use the same economic advantages to remain competative.

Nick Howell, PENZANCE, CORNWALL

I Trust these off-shore employment opportunities are not a result of our " successful minimum wage policy!

Brian, Phoenix, AZ

Besides the food miles, what an amount of transportation fuel is being wasted !
With the increased prices for fuels the costs get added o the product without doubt of caourse.
If only the food miles could be minimised then there could be a lot of saving of scarce fuel also in the world.

K. P. Aiyer, Mumbai, India

This is a shame but it's also just the same as buying goods manufactured overseas. If you buy a shirt made in India or China, the materials may have been carried for 100s or 1000s of miles before being made into the shirt.

One way everybody can reduce their carbon footprint when buying food is to buy it in it's purest form as possible. This way it will have covered the least amount of miles to be ferried for processing. You'll also recieve the health benefits of ingesting less chemicals involved in production.

This just proves what i've always thought. Bernard Matthews can import meat from eastern Europe and label it as British produce after it is reshaped and breaded and anyone who feeds themselves this crap is an idiot.

Justin, Wuhan, China

The overall inpact on the enviroment is that the much needed jobs is being loss due the financial benefits to the companies concern. The labour market in these countries is short change to the gains of companies involved. The cost in terms of tranport/shipping an overland drives is not taking in account the insurance and risk in contamination of it's produce.Global determination to eliminate the labour forcesof it's own country. So most important the need to reduce the global warming due to carbon dioxide emmission in the tranport process.Fundamental protection to the masses in labour.

james yap, georgetown, malaysia

The overall inpact on the enviroment is that the much needed jobs is being loss due the financial benefits to the companies concern. The labour market in these countries is short change to the gains of companies involved. The cost in terms of tranport/shipping an overland drives is not taking in account the insurance and risk in contamination of it's produce.Global determination to eliminate the labour forcesof it's own country. So most important the need to reduce the global warming due to carbon dioxide emmission in the tranport process.Fundamental protection to the masses in labour.

james yap, georgetown/penang, malaysia

Why shouldnt employers do this? Why should we pay higher wages to English
workers when workers in China or third world countries will do it for a tenth of the price? British workers need to be realistic in their wage demands and should work for the same rates here as their Chinese and Indian counterparts if they want to continue to have jobs. It is true that UK workers willl end up much poorer in future by historical standards, but why should employers care about that? Employers need to make profits, thats the only reason we are in business. If English workers wont work for the same money as we can get it done abroard, let them try unemployment and see how they like that. What companies are doing is all perfectly legal.

Angela Simpson, Bristol, UK

The world really has gone mad. I remember hearing stories in the press years ago about coal being transported (allegedly) for hundreds of kilometres across Russia to a power station when there was a coal mine nearby. The reasons then were put down to Communist beaurocracy. This time, it's about greed, make no mistake. It might be cheaper, but in the long run, relentless outsourcing will ruin the UK economy.

Chris, London, London