Food Miles and Local Food
Food miles measure the distance food travels from producer to consumer, and buying local and seasonal food can reduce emissions.
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Food miles measure the distance food travels from producer to consumer, and buying local and seasonal food can reduce emissions.
- Transport adds to the footprint
- Seasonal food needs less energy
- Production methods also matter
🧠 Quick quiz
Three questions. Score 2 or more to complete the topic.
What is Food Miles and Local Food?
Within Earth & Environmental Science, which covers our planet, its resources and ecosystems, and how people can protect the environment, this topic explains Food Miles and Local Food. Earth and environment topics show how the planet’s systems shape landscapes, climate and life, with models that make these processes visible.
Check that you can explain Food Miles and Local Food in your own words and give one example from everyday life. If you can do that, you have understood the core idea.
Understanding Food Miles and Local Food helps you explain the environment around you and weigh up how people can protect it.
Food Miles and Local Food in detail
Food miles are the distance food travels from where it is produced to where it is eaten. Transport, especially by air, contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, and long supply chains need packaging and refrigeration.
Buying local and seasonal food may reduce transport emissions, support local farmers and give fresher produce. However, transport is often a small part of a food's total footprint, and how it is produced matters more, so locally grown food in heated greenhouses can have a bigger footprint than imported food grown outdoors. Meat and dairy have high footprints. Wasting less food and eating more plants are effective choices.
How the interactive helps you understand Food Miles and Local Food
Watch the globe in the interactive. Use any sliders or buttons it offers to change the values and see how the globe responds.
Before you change anything, predict the result. Then change one value at a time and check whether your prediction was right. This is a quick way to build a correct mental model of Food Miles and Local Food.
Real-life uses and examples
- Explain how Food Miles and Local Food affects the landscape or climate near you.
- Link Food Miles and Local Food to a real environmental problem and a possible solution.
- Use a diagram of Food Miles and Local Food to describe the steps of a process in order.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Describing a process without the timescale it works over.
- Presenting one cause as the only cause of an environmental change.
- Learning the definition without testing it. Use the quiz and the interactive to check that you can apply the idea.
Frequently asked questions about Food Miles and Local Food
What is Food Miles and Local Food?
Food miles measure the distance food travels from producer to consumer, and buying local and seasonal food can reduce emissions.
What are the most important points about Food Miles and Local Food?
The main points are: Transport adds to the footprint; Seasonal food needs less energy; Production methods also matter.
Why is Food Miles and Local Food useful?
Understanding Food Miles and Local Food helps you explain the environment around you and weigh up how people can protect it.
How can I practise Food Miles and Local Food?
Open the interactive at the top of this page and change the controls one at a time. Predict the result before each change, then take the three-question quiz. A score of two or more marks the topic as complete on this device.
Which topics are related to Food Miles and Local Food?
Related topics in Earth & Environmental Science include Mapping and Remote Sensing, Environmental Ethics, Glaciers and Ice Sheets.