'Buying local' doesn't necessarily translate to 'eco-friendly'

Believe it or not, hopping on the "locavore" bandwagon isn't the most eco-friendly way to buy groceries. New research suggests that grocery retailers, not farmers markets, are the most energy-efficient and environmentally beneficial food source.

"Linear travel miles are not indicative of total energy use and therefore not necessarily a valid measure of the environmental impact of moving food over long distances," said Dr. Jude Capper an Assistant Professor at Washington State University and co-author of the report, "Demystifying the Environmental Sustainability of Food Production."

Instead of total miles traveled, Capper said, the energy use per unit of food moved paints a more accurate picture of overall energy use. The report found that a modern refrigerated tractor-trailer uses the least amount of fuel per dozen eggs while en route to a grocery store, even if the eggs travel hundreds more miles than would eggs traveling from a local farm to a farmers market or to the consumer's home. Fuel consumption per dozen eggs purchased from a farmers market is more than eight times the amount used by tractor-trailer. A consumer traveling to a local poultry farm is even less fuel-efficient.

Shipping eggs across then entire U.S. by tractor-trailer to a grocery retailer is still the most fuel-efficient, eco-friendly option, said the report. This underscores the tremendous efficiency achieved through modern transportation systems and economies of scale.

While the report did not examine all food products, it does conclude that "food should be grown where the agricultural resources and capacity are most suited to efficient food production," rather than close to population centers.

The full report can be found at:
http://wsu.academia.edu/documents/0046/7264/2009_Cornell_Nutrition_Conference_Capper_et_al.pdf


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