Buy locally grown & seasonal food
Eating more local and seasonal food is better for your health, better for the local economy and better for our planet. Let’s not forget it tastes better too!
Food is responsible for about a quarter* of all global greenhouse gas emissions, and while we can’t stop eating, we can take some steps to reduce our food’s impact on the planet.
Almost a fifth* of those emissions come from the supply chain – getting the food from farms to our homes. By choosing to eat more locally grown food, you can cut out most of that supply chain.
Buying food which is in season also helps, because it means the food will have needed less processing, storage or transport to get it to you.
At the moment more than half of the UK’s food comes from abroad, mainly the EU, South America and South-East Asia, and only 1% comes from local sources.
As well as reducing ‘food miles’, here in Oxfordshire and around the UK, the way our food is produced is some of the safest and most sustainable in the world – for example the carbon footprint of UK milk is just 40% of the global average.
How far food travels isn’t the only factor affecting how it impacts our climate, but knowing where your food comes from and how it got to you will help you make the best choices you can.
• How to start: Check traffic light nutrition labels and swap processed food for fresh, seasonal produce.
• If you do one thing: Buy close to home instead of flown.
Find out more from Good Food Oxfordshire: