There have been increasing sales of fair trade (where the customer may, not unreasonably, believe that the 'ethical' package applies to protection of the environment as well as a fair price for the producer) and 'local British produce' (where the customer believes that the food will have a much smaller 'Carbon footprint' than similar items flown or shipped half way across the world). These beliefs have been cast into some doubt by an article in the Sunday Times on the 20th May (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/health). It appears that many of these items involve considerable 'food miles' when they are processed before sale in the UK . Two striking examples involve British shellfish. Welsh cockles marketed by van Smirren Seafoods are reportedly driven from Wales to Dover, processed and pickled in Holland before the jars are sent back to Britain for sale. Even more strikingly, Dawnfresh, a Scottish seafood company, is said to ship its 'local' scampi 5000 miles to be shelled by hand in China before being shipped back to Scotland to be breaded and sold. This latter company claims that commercial pressures forced them to use the cheaper processing available in China (and clearly feel that processing costs are an issue for many UK producers). 'Traidcraft' coffee sold at Sainsburys is grown in Tanzania but the beans are transported almost 4000 miles to India for packing, before being transported another 5500 miles to the UK for distribution. The company, not unreasonably, point out that they create employment for about 500 people in India. It is, however, becoming increasingly difficult to assess whether 'local' and 'fair trade' foods have hidden costs to the environment. More detailed labelling might help customers better distinguish ethically meaningful products from simple marketing ploys.
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