| "The sum of the average food miles from conventionally sourced produce to reach those same Iowa institutions was an estimated 25,301 miles; nearly 400 miles further than the circumference of the earth (measured at the equator)." — American Dietetic Association 2004 |
Food miles have the potential to serve as such a metaphor. A food mile is the distance food travels from where it is grown or raised to where it is ultimately purchased by the consumer or end-user. It is relatively easy to calculate food miles for a food product that remains intact from the time it leaves the farm until its purchase. Using fresh produce as an example, carrots grown in the San Joaquin Valley in California and transported to supermarkets in Des Moines, Iowa will travel approximately 1,400 miles. Chilean grapes transported by ship and truck to Des Moines, Iowa markets travel 7,270 miles.
Table: Comparison of local v. conventional source food miles for produce
| Produce Type | Locally grown | Conventional Source Estimation |
| food miles | food miles |
| Apples | 61 | 1,726 |
| Beans | 65 | 1,313 |
| Broccoli | 20 | 1,846 |
| Cabbage | 50 | 719 |
| Carrots | 27 | 1,838 |
| Corn, Sweet | 20 | 1,426 |
| Garlic | 31 | 1,811 |
| Lettuce | 43 | 1,823 |
| Onions | 35 | 1,759 |
| Peppers | 44 | 1,589 |
| Potatoes | 75 | 1,155 |
| Pumpkins | 41 | 311 |
| Spinach | 36 | 1,815 |
| Squash | 52 | 1,277 |
| Strawberries | 56 | 1,830 |
| Tomatoes | 60 | 1,569 |
| WASD - for all produce | 56 | 1,494 |
| Sum of all WASDs | 716 | 25,301 |
-- Source: Pirog R, Schuh P. The load less traveled: examining the potential of using food miles in ecolabels. Proceedings from Ecolabels and the Greening of the Food Market Conference, November 2002:69.
Comments (0)
You don't have permission to comment on this page.