Brendan Vickers
3 March 2008
analysis
Johannesburg — AS GLOBAL awareness of climate change grows, concerns have been raised by the green lobby about the damage caused to the environment by the carbon emissions of air transportation, especially air-freighted agricultural products.
The idea of "food miles" is an extension of the argument that the further things are transported, the higher will be the amount of carbon dioxide emitted. In particular, air freighting generates CO' emissions that are between 40 and 200 times greater than goods that are shipped by sea or road. But transportation is generally only a small part of the overall carbon footprint of a product. Other elements include growing and production methods, packaging materials, where the product is sold, how it is used and how it is eventually disposed of.
Last year, this debate took on new proportions, pitting those concerned about "food miles" against those prioritising "fair miles" and the socioeconomic developmental impact of fair trade, particularly fresh farm produce flown in from Africa.
Europe's recent swing towards ethical consumerism and the rise of the global organic market are certainly boons for several African countries and particularly their impoverished smallholder farmers. These farmers have diversified into the production of fruits, vegetables and cut flowers to service the discerning demands and exacting standards of northern export markets for fresh, organic and niche produce. Under the European Union's (EU's) new organic labelling rules, 95% of the product must be organically produced, with an allowance for 0,9% presence of accidental genetically-modified material.
This diversification strategy from traditional agriculture is fraught with pros and cons. On the one hand, an undue emphasis on horticulture and niche perishables may potentially endanger food security in Africa (as do biofuels). On the other, farmers appear to be content with these new export opportunities and the income it generates. It becomes even more important given the World Bank's recent "rediscovery" of the importance of agriculture to Africa, particularly to sustain growth to partly achieve some of the Millennium Development Goals.
Today, Kenya provides 31% of Europe's cut flowers, which directly employs 500000 people and another million through auxiliary services. Horticulture is the country's second biggest foreign exchange earner after tourism. Ethiopia's budding flower power is now also catching up to the country's most famous export: coffee. Smallholder Kenyan farmers also supply northern supermarket shelves with baby corn, green beans and mange tout.
With the recent adoption of a new common and robust organic standard for East Africa , these producers are poised to take advantage of the world's rapidly growing organic markets. Against this canvas, Kenyan exporters were understandably devastated when some supermarkets in the UK, such as Tesco and Marks & Spencer, bought into the CO' -food miles debate last year, and started to label imported produce with "carbon-unfriendly" airplane symbols. This was accompanied by broader community calls to buy in-season local produce, or what opposition Conservative Party leader David Cameron termed "food patriotism".
These debates have now died down, presaged by an epistemic offensive from both the British and Kenyan governments and research institutions -- such as the International Institute for Environment and Development -- to dispel some of the more emotive myths surrounding food miles.
What, then, do we know? First, it has been shown that the air-freighting of fruit and vegetables counts for only a small proportion of UK greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, transportation of certified fair trade products amount to only 0,03% of this. While food transport undeniably has an environmental and social cost, most of this -- about 85% -- comes from UK roads. Second, local produce also clocks up food miles, between farm, processors, storage, depot and the supermarket. Third, flowers imported from Africa can use less energy overall than those produced in Europe. Research has found that a flower grown in Kenya and flown into the UK emits five times less carbon than one that has been industrially hot-housed in the Netherlands.
The aeroplane symbols on air-freighted imported foods in supermarkets have today been replaced by Kenya's Grown Under the Sun label. This suggestive brand holds that it is ethically and environmentally sound to buy fresh perishables from Africa, while ensuring social justice and new opportunities for many of the world's poorest communities.
The lesson for Southern African exporters is patent: the global organic market is on the rise, and it is important that our exporters recognise this opportunity and fully harness its potential to ensure that fair trade serves sustainable socioeconomic development. At the same time, those "greenies" among us should more critically explore what else could be done to limit environmental harm done by farming, transportation and excessive consumption.
Dr Brendan Vickers is senior researcher: multilateral trade at the Institute for Global Dialogue.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Business Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
