nicoletta landi Aug 10, 2009 17:16 pm

In an article from Tim Hartford on the FT last month, I read something like:

"An environmentally conscious consumer in the crisps aisle of the supermarket will probably be thinking about packaging or food miles. The Carbon Trust reckons that about 1 per cent of the climate impact of a packet of crisps is from moving potatoes around. The largest single culprit is the production of the nitrogen fertiliser, and half of the climate impact in general takes place at the agricultural stage."
http://timharford.com/2009/07/carbon-footprinting-time-to-pick-up-the-pace/

I tried to know more about these numbers, both from Tim Hartford and from the Carbon Trust, but I am not very satisfied with their answers.

Can anybody in this list point me to more specific studies, information, etc?
I have read so much on food miles and so little on fertilisers. I am not an expert in the field, so I am searching for some information large-public oriented.
Personally, I just would like to know if the battle for food miles is just an ant compared to the big elephant of the fertilisers.

Thanks very much for your help
Nicoletta

nicoletta landi
ealingsustainable.wordpress.com