Food Miles Calculator Highlights the Bigger Picture
Swindon, United Kingdom, August 08, 2009 --(PR.com)-- As organic food comes under the spotlight for its nutritional qualities a website focusing on the sector has urged shoppers to examine another crucial factor – food miles.
Organiclinker.com has launched a food miles calculator, allowing users to check just how far their produce has travelled and how much carbon it might have generated in the process.
For example, a punnet of strawberries that had originally come from Spain would have travelled 787 miles and created 77kg of carbon if they had been transported by plane.
To date the food miles calculator has topped more than 87million miles - approximately 3525 trips around the earth.
Mike Sharp, owner of Organiclinker.com and creator of the Food Miles Calculator, explained: “In the light of a controversial and much criticised Food Standards Agency report that says organic food doesn’t contain more nutrients than non-organic food, people could be misled into missing the big picture. Buying local and organic brings huge benefits, both from the method of production and by cutting down emissions.
“People often do not fully understand the impact on the environment of buying fruit and vegetables from abroad. By buying local, not only are you helping to cut down on carbon emissions, but you are also supporting your local economy and grower.”
The calculator also emphasizes the need make better use of local transport and even walking and bicycles.
Mike added: “It is not only the fruit coming in from abroad which adds to our environmental problems. How many of us travel for miles to an out of town supermarket, alone in our car, just do the weekly shopping? Shopping locally means that we could use the public transport or even walk. It all helps to cut down on the ‘food mileage’ effect.”
OrganicLinker.com invites people to discuss ways of lowering their food miles consumption on the forums and to calculate their food mileage at www.organicLinker.com/food-miles.cfm.
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For more information please contact Mike Sharp at mesharp@gmail.com or visit www.organiclinker.com.
Organiclinker.com has launched a food miles calculator, allowing users to check just how far their produce has travelled and how much carbon it might have generated in the process.
For example, a punnet of strawberries that had originally come from Spain would have travelled 787 miles and created 77kg of carbon if they had been transported by plane.
To date the food miles calculator has topped more than 87million miles - approximately 3525 trips around the earth.
Mike Sharp, owner of Organiclinker.com and creator of the Food Miles Calculator, explained: “In the light of a controversial and much criticised Food Standards Agency report that says organic food doesn’t contain more nutrients than non-organic food, people could be misled into missing the big picture. Buying local and organic brings huge benefits, both from the method of production and by cutting down emissions.
“People often do not fully understand the impact on the environment of buying fruit and vegetables from abroad. By buying local, not only are you helping to cut down on carbon emissions, but you are also supporting your local economy and grower.”
The calculator also emphasizes the need make better use of local transport and even walking and bicycles.
Mike added: “It is not only the fruit coming in from abroad which adds to our environmental problems. How many of us travel for miles to an out of town supermarket, alone in our car, just do the weekly shopping? Shopping locally means that we could use the public transport or even walk. It all helps to cut down on the ‘food mileage’ effect.”
OrganicLinker.com invites people to discuss ways of lowering their food miles consumption on the forums and to calculate their food mileage at www.organicLinker.com/food-miles.cfm.
###
For more information please contact Mike Sharp at mesharp@gmail.com or visit www.organiclinker.com.
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OrganicLinker.com
Mike Sharp
07891943336
www.organiclinker.com
Mike Sharp
07891943336
www.organiclinker.com
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