How Many Miles in Your Christmas Dinner?

Louise Bolotin writes:

Many argue that 50 miles is the tipping point for locality of supply. But is it really as simple as that? And is it possible to supply a Christmas dinner with a low, and local, carbon footprint?

 

At Sussex and the City, a Brighton shop that is an intriguing mix of farmers’ market and deli, owner Duncan Innes is proud that everything he stocks comes from within a 50-mile radius.

 

Initially Duncan only sold locally produced vegetables, meats and wines, as well as larder staples and treats such as chutneys and chocolate. But, says Duncan:

 

“I started selling fair-trade teas and coffees blended and roasted by a renowned local supplier. Of course, they are imported but they tick most boxes and I need to supply my customers with what they want. It’s a financial necessity – I have to balance being local with a good range of stock.”

 

Duncan’s customers buy on price and quality, with local, organic or sustainable being added bonuses. “I know all my suppliers well and they are passionate about what they do. My customers purchase from me because I sell quality goods.

 

“They will not buy local goods if the price is too high or the quality is poor.”

 

Could Duncan sell a completely local Christmas dinner? “Yes. I can probably supply 90% of a dinner, including wines. For customers who must have cranberry sauce, I’d recommend they buy something locally produced rather than a jar of factory sauce.”

 Cranberry sauce: the food mile nightmare

According to a recent report from the University of Manchester, The Carbon Footprint of Christmas Dinner, cranberry sauce is responsible for half the carbon footprint related to transport. This is because more than 95% of the global cranberry crop is grown in North America.

 

The Stockholm Environment Institute also published a report this year, The Carbon Cost of Christmas, which calculated the CO2 output of a typical Christmas dinner as 26kg of CO2 per person – the equivalent of 40 Christmas puddings. Eating an organic, vegetarian dinner and composting peelings and leftovers could reduce CO2 output by 8kg per person.

 

Yet, according to Barny Haughton, organic is becoming less important in terms of carbon footprint. Barny, chef-proprietor of Bordeaux Quay restaurant and deli in Bristol, also sources largely within a 50-mile radius. However, he also calculates that freighting wine by boat from Europe has less carbon footprint than wine brought from Kent by lorry.

 

“Local produce supports the local economy and boosts employment. Locally grown food is healthier and fresher as it travels less. We have a European attitude to food at Bordeaux Quay – the menu changes daily according to seasonal availability from our suppliers.”

 Back to ye olde days

Barny predicts a “medieval future” within 50 years, when food will have to be local as fuel will have become too expensive to transport much.

 

“People will start preserving again as modern refrigeration may no longer be viable.”

 

Sausage king Max Mason, who owns award-winning bangers and mash eateries The Big Bang in Oxford and Bristol, is currently serving seasonal turkey and cranberry sausages on his menu, but says his kitchen uses less than a litre of cranberry relish a week. He sources all his supplies within a tiny 20-mile radius (decided by the simple expedient of up-ending a wine glass on a map), although he concedes this is largely possible only because of his limited menu.

 

Max says: “I estimate that 98% of our supplies come from within our 20-mile radius but we accept we may have to purchase spices from further afield.

 

“Transparency is vital and local is more important than organic – some farmers struggle to gain organic certification at great financial cost.”

 

Chris Mayer, owner of Deli-Vert delicatessen in Chester, has a stock policy of 50:50, with 50% being locally produced food from within a 50-mile radius. According to Chris, food from further afield stops being local.

 

“My customers specifically ask for local food. My 50-mile radius gives me access to a huge range of specialist producers in the region. Most of my local produce is fresh – cheeses, pâtés and hams, breads, cakes – and comes direct from those making it. I also source from the Cholmondley Food Hub, 16 miles away, which has its own 50-mile radius for sourcing from local producers.”

 

Around 30% of Chris’ stock consists of store-cupboard items that are harder to source locally and often have to be imported. To cut down on the overall carbon footprint, Chris buys in from wholesale cooperative Suma in Leeds: “It’s 70 miles away, but the lorry would be travelling this way anyway and the weekly delivery of olive oil, teas, coffees and couscous means all the imported items arrive together.

 

“My business needs to be viable as well as sustainable and that means finding a balance when it comes to what and how to stock.”

 

Henrietta Green, founder of Food Lovers Britain, which supports quality local producers, says that ideally food should come from within a smaller radius but she agrees that 50 miles, while arbitrary, is the limit for locality. Says Henrietta:

 

“Food miles are an immensely complex issue. You could buy vegetables grown within 50 miles but if they were grown in a heated greenhouse, that will have consumed more energy than vegetables grown organically slightly further away. There will always be a conflict between quality and locality. Ideally, we need to encourage farmers and producers to fulfil our needs locally.”