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
Food Miles vs Nitrogen Fertilizer
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Here's another study, this time by PepsiCo regarding the carbon footprint of Tropicana oranges...
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/business/22pepsi.html
For those of us in the waste reduction/composting field, these studies are all ammunition for the increased use of compost in crop production - replacing petroleum-based fertilizers with compost is potentially the cheapest AND most effective way to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions related to agriculture...not to mention the increased worker safety, jobs, organic certification and local landfill diversion (and methane avoidance) that come along with it.
Tim Dewey-Mattia
Public Education Manager
Napa Recycling & Waste Services
United States
www.naparecycling.com
Hi Nicolette,
This paper may be of interest: Saunders, C., Barber, A. and Taylor, G. (2006) Food Miles Comparative Energy/Emissions Performance of New
Zealand's Agriculture Industry, Agribusiness and Economics Research Unit, Research Report 285. Available
http://www.lincoln.ac.nz/story9430.html [Accessed 3 June, 2007]
It looks into the enery use in the whole production cycle of food and from memory there is reference to fertilisers..
Enjoy,
Sophie
Sophie G
Australia
This is one of the better articles that I've read in a while and it talks comprehensively about food miles. I would encourage you to read it if you're looking for more in depth info on this matter.
http://www.worldwatch.org/node/6064
Remi Charron
Outreach Representative
Alberta Government (Environment)
Canada
www.onesimpleact.alberta.ca