http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/if-you-want-to-go-green-buy-spanish-strawberries-1761488.html

It seems to me that that the problem is not just one of complexity, but over-simplification. As is usual in our society, we tend to treat everything as separate and disconnected, reducing complex problems down to their simplest parts. In this instance, the sustainability of food production and consumption has been reduced down to the obvious: carbon emissions, and has been oversimplified to an interpretation that total food miles equals total environmental impact.

And unfortunately that creates an opportunity for irresponsible journalists to confuse the public on an already complicated issue and insinuate that because air-freighting in strawberries might have less of an environmental impact than greenhouse British grown, that makes it a green option! It would be a farce to conclude from this that because in a particular situation, strawberries from Spain might be ‘greener’, we should take it as a green light to import, import, import. The issue is of course more complex than food miles, and if you want to be truly green, you should buy local and seasonal. In fact if you follow the argument about collective responsibility and carbon to its logical conclusion, you should consider giving up meat and dairy altogether.

‘Food miles’ is a term first coined by Tim Lang to capture the hidden distance that our meals travel from farm, to miraculously appearing on our supermarket shelves, to our plates. It is true that like for like, the further a food has to travel, the greater its environmental impact. It’s also true that the further food has had to be transported, the worse the overall impact of that food is for it is for the environment, taking that food on its own merits. Transport is an undeniable major part of the impact of food production. However, most food isn’t like for like, reflecting the diversity of the places on Earth where food is produced and the methods used to grow, harvest, store, tranport and package that are available. The notion of food miles has been eagerly lept upon and widely misused as having the same meaning as environmental impact; that local is always better in terms of the environment. It’s the demand for ubiquity of food, the demand for 24/7 availability and the individual’s ‘right’ of choice of being able to eat anything and everything at any time of the year that’s the issue. That ubiquity has also played a part in the disconnection between producer, food and consumer and a lack of understanding of the other than finanical cost of what’s gone into that food on your plate.

The argument for local sourcing needs to be considered more holistically, considering economic, social and environmental impacts. In terms of responsible tourism, perhaps it’s even easier to make a strong case for getting involved with local food.When we visit other places, a basic assumption is that difference plays a part in our desire to visit and experience other places. If we wanted the same as usual, we’d stay at home. Local food and drink represents the cultural distinctiveness of a region, contributes to a unique visitor experience, and particularly in rural areas, connects you to the destination’s agricultural links. Healthy, diverse farmed landscapes are instrinsic to rural locations in Britain. Locally and responsibly produced and consumed food and drink on holiday can sustain the very landscape that surrounds you, and enhance biodiversity. Crucially, local produce supports the local economy by returning a better margin for producers and by retaining the financial benefit within the community. This is fundamental to responsible tourism, as consumers that travel to the product (rather than the other way round) and spend time as guests in a host community.

And it’s a better experience. Go into a major supermarket and ask a question as simple as ‘do you stock this’ or ‘what aisle is this in’ and watch the disinterested Saturday boy or girl shuffle off to ask another disinterested employee who also doesn’t know the answer to your question. Be honest – you know what I’m talking about. And who can blame them; they are as disconnectedto  and uninterested in their job as you are to your weekly chore. Go into the local independent greengrocer, butcher or delicatessan and they’ll be able to tell you about where they source their produce from, the welfare of the animals, the most appropriate cut, and how to use it, what to cook it with. Because they’re usually interested, because they’re specialists – it’s their livelihoods and it’s what they do. Shopping becomes humanised, a pleasure. When I go to my local farm shop in the Brecon Beacons – Beacons Farm Shop aka the Welsh Venison Centre – for my occasional meat fix amongst other things, I can chat with the staff about Wally’s farm across town, where the rare breed pork they sell comes from and I could if so inclined, check that farm out myself. I wondered what exactly that pork tenderloin was there sitting behind the counter, and I’m met with an explanation and gesticulation towards the diagram of what cut means this or that on the wall opposite. This is a better shopping experience for local and visitor alike and I’m reassured that my purchasing decisions are helping to keep this special rural area as just that.

It’s not limited to choosing farm shops or specialist independents over supermarkets, but also about the restaurants and cafes that source responsibly and locally produced ingredients, along with seasonal menus. They might just be able to tell you something about what they’re serving, if they’ve given some thought to what they’re sourcing, rather than having to run to the back and pretend to ask the bored chef if there’s any pepper in the soup. Food festivals and farmers markets offer the same opportunity to purchase food with provenance, a great experience and the chance to understand more about what you’re buying and from whom and an escape from bland sanitised products. Every pun intended; you can actually taste the difference. Taste depends on the precise ingredients, the equipment and recipes used, even the story that accompanies it which is why distinctive local food and drink can find a market in discerning visitors – particularly ones that are holidaying closer to home.

So if you want to go green and by green I mean in the narrow parochial sense of carbon dioxide concerns only, perhaps buy Spanish strawberries if you must eat them at times of year when they cannot be naturally propogated in the UK. But a study by Jules Pretty and colleagues at Essex University concluded: ‘if in doubt, buy local. Its footprint is almost always less than that of food produced via a benign system [e.g. organic] if it has come long distance’.If you want to make more responsible food choices next time you’re taking a break or holiday, eat local and if possible, eat seasonal or food that is verified as responsibly produced. Yes, there’s also a valid argument that buying your green beans from Africa supports third world producers, but I would argue, that when on holiday, eating with provenance is better for local people, the climate and better for you as a visitor. If you’re on holiday in Africa after all, you’re unlikely to find yourself dining on produce from the UK – even if you could.

“…[it] is right to point to the significance of the low carbon economy, the age of oil was never going to last for ever, the readjustment in the world’s economies will be painful – tourism cannot be isolated from those changes. But change brings new opportunities. Domestic tourism will grow; the slow movement and local distinctiveness create opportunities for new forms of tourism and new business opportunities – consider this year’s ground breaking VisitEngland Enjoy Every Minute promotion targeted locals and international and domestic tourists”.

Domestic tourism already accounts for the majority of tourism in the UK, and if more people are set to holiday closer to home, this presents an opportunity for localities to differentiate themselves on their cultural identity. Visitors will want to know what’s different about the place they are in, and it will be important communicate this to get people to stay longer and spend (and retain) more in the local economy. Both of these are fundamental to more sustainable forms of tourism, by increasing the benefits to local people and focussing on more than just growing the number of visitors to a place as a measure of progress.