Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
2099500 | Trends in Food Science & Technology | 2008 | 10 Pages |
Abstract
Advocates of ‘local food’ claim it serves to reduce food miles and greenhouse gas emissions, improve food safety and quality, strengthen local economies and enhance social capital. We critically review the philosophical and scientific rationale for this assertion, and consider whether conventional scientific approaches can help resolve the debate. We conclude that food miles are a poor indicator of the environmental and ethical impacts of food production. Only through combining spatially explicit life cycle assessment with analysis of social issues can the benefits of local food be assessed. This type of analysis is currently lacking for nearly all food chains.
Related Topics
Life Sciences
Agricultural and Biological Sciences
Food Science
Authors
Gareth Edwards-Jones, Llorenç Milà i Canals, Natalia Hounsome, Monica Truninger, Georgia Koerber, Barry Hounsome, Paul Cross, Elizabeth H. York, Almudena Hospido, Katharina Plassmann, Ian M. Harris, Rhiannon T. Edwards, Graham A.S. Day, A. Deri Tomos,