Many urban-dwellers in the developed world have little idea how far food may travel before it arrives in their shops and supermarkets. The expectation is that produce will be available at all times of the year, and this requires transporting vast quantities of food around the globe, with consequent production of greenhouse gases by ships, aeroplanes, trains and lorries.
The issues are not simple. For example, in some cases ‘ local’ produce may have been grown using heated greenhouses, which generate more carbon dioxide than would be used to transport the goods from sunnier regions of the world. Or animals raised for meat may be fed using energy-intensive manufactured feed, rather than the ‘free’ grazing used by other farmers.
This section is to help children understand the impact of transporting food.