Gobbling up the planet: Your guide to food miles APPLES (FUJI) Seventy-six per cent of apples consumed in the

UK come from overseas. Washington , home of the Red Delicious and grower of half of America's apples, produces 135 ,000 tons of Fuji apples a year. They also come from China and Japan, and have a long shelf-life. With refrigeration, Fuji apples can last five or six months. Typical exporter: US Food miles to UK: 3,700 C02 ( g per pac of four): by sea 0.06; by air 1.68 Price: 1.99/500g, 2.98/ g BEEF The United States, Brazil, the European Union, Japan and the People's Republic o f China are the world's largest consumers of beef, while the world's largest exp orters of beef are Australia, Brazil, Argentina and Canada respectively. While B ritish beef is clearly labelled in UK supermar ets, Argentinian beef is still a best seller here. Typical exporter: Argentina Food miles to UK: 6,900 CO2 ( g/ g): by sea 0.22; by air 6.33 Price: approx 6/ g PINEAPPLE South-east Asia dominates world production of pineapples. Total world production in 2001 was 14.220 million tons. The primary exporters of fresh pineapples in 2 001 were Costa Rica, 322,000 tons; Ivory Coast, 188,000 tons; and the Philippine s, 135,000 tons. In the UK we get most of our pineapples from Ghana. Typical exporter: Ghana Food miles to UK: 3,100 CO2 ( g/pineapple): by sea 0.22; by air 6.26 Price: approx 2/ g TOMATOES The tomato plant was first grown in England in the 1590s, but despite being a st aple of greenhouses countrywide, China produces the most, churning out more than 30 million per year. UK consumers have become used to getting their tomatoes fr om Saudi Arabia. Grown to loo good and last for ages, these love apples tend to be rather lac ing in flavour. The British Tomato Growers Association says two t hirds of the tomatoes eaten in the UK are imported. Typical exporter: Saudi Arabia Food miles to UK: 3,100 C02 ( g/pac of six): by sea 0.04; by air 1.2 Price: approx 99p/420g 2.35/ g SPRING ONIONS The most common ind of spring onion is the Welsh onion, Allium fistulosum. Iron ic considering how many scallions are imported from Thailand. Typical exporter: Thailand Food miles to UK: 5,900

CO2 ( g/pac ): by sea 0.04; by air 1.28 Price: approx 50p/200g; 2.50/ g POTATOES According to the British Potato Council, the UK imports about 350,000 tonnes of tatties a year, including during the English season. Even more depressing is the fact that many of these imported varieties may have been in storage for up to s ix months. Typical exporter: Israel Food miles to UK: 2,200 C02 ( g/ g): by sea 0.07; by air 2.0 Price: approx 1.50/ g ASPARAGUS Despite the delicious flavour of British asparagus, UK consumers tuc into thous ands of tons of Latin American asparagus, even during the British season. Peru i s the world's leading asparagus exporter, followed by China and Mexico. The top asparagus importers in 2004 were the United States (92,405 tons), followed by th e European Union (external trade 18,565 tons), and Japan (17,148 tons). Main exporter: Peru Food miles to UK: 6,300 C02 ( g per pac ): by sea 0.05; by air 1.44 Price: 1.99/250g, 7.96/ g BROCCOLI Traditional purple sprouting English broccoli is only available from February to April, ma ing eating it year-round an ethics-busting luxury. Interestingly, the Food Standards Agency says frozen broccoli has more nutritional value than fres h florets that have been refrigerated for too long. Buy British and eep it in t he freezer. Main exporter: Spain Food miles to UK: 780 C02 ( g/broccoli): by sea 0.01; by air 0.22 Price: 38p/ea; 1.28/ g (Sainsbury's) KING PRAWNS South-east Asia is where many of the UK's ing prawns are intensively farmed. is ind of technique can be harmful to both prawns and people: cancer-causing tibiotic residues were discovered in some Indonesian farmed prawns five years o, resulting in a slew of EU bans. When bred intensively, the prawns also run e ris of contracting white-spot virus. Typical exporter: Indonesia Food miles to UK: 7,300 CO2 ( g per pac ): by sea 0.03; by air 0.84 Price: 2.99 per 125g, 23.92 per g (Sainsbury's) BANANAS In 2003, India led the world in banana production, representing approximately 23 per cent of the worldwide crop, most of which was for domestic consumption. The four leading banana exporting countries were Ecuador, Costa Rica, The Philippin es, and Colombia, which accounted for about two-thirds of the world's exports. B Th an ag th

ananas are refrigerated to between 13.5 and 15C (57 and 59F) during transport. Typical exporter: India Food miles to UK: 5,106 C02 ( g/ g): by sea 0.16; by air 4.67 Price: 68p/1 g SUGARSNAP PEAS The sweetest pea on the mar et is surprisingly versatile and can even survive fr osts, but it thrives in warmer climates and is grown across Central America and the southern states of America. Main exporter: Guatemala Food miles to UK: 5,450 miles C02( g/pac ): by sea 0.04; by air 1.0 Price: 1.29/200g 6.45/ g GRAPES Than s to their delicate s ins, grapes require more pac aging to transport them safely than almost any other fruit. Grown for export in Eygpt, South Africa and the US. Owing to the pac aging, imported grapes have a doubly large carbon footp rint. Main exporter: Egypt Food miles to UK: 2,200 C02 ( g/pac ): by sea 0.04; by air 1.0 Price: approx 2.50/500g 5/ g STRAWBERRIES What could be more British than strawberries on a summer's day? Unfortunately, o ut-of-season berries from Spain or even California have become the norm for cons umers wanting a year-round fix. Main exporter: Spain Food miles to Britain: 780 C02 ( g/pac ): by sea 0.01; by air 0.19 Price: approx 4/ g NEW WORLD CHARDONNAY Thought to be named after a village in the Burgundy region of France, Chardonnay is now the number one grape variety in Australia and the rest of the New World, where its versatility ma es it a reliable grape for producing wine in huge quan tities. This has led to something of a bac lash; TV wine expert Oz Clar e called it "the coloniser and destroyer of the world's vineyards and palates". Typical exporter: Australia Food miles to UK: 9,000 C02 ( g/bottle): by sea 0.29; by air 8.27 Price: approx 5 CARROTS In 2005, China was the largest producer of carrots and turnips, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation. China accounted for at least a third of the global output, followed by Russia and the US. In the UK, we get most of our carr ots from South Africa, despite the fact that the Western carrot emerged in Europ

e in the 15th or 16th century. Typical exporter: South Africa Food miles to UK: 6,000 CO2 ( g/ g): by sea 0.19; by air 5.5 Price: 69p/ g AVOCADOS (HASS) Commercial avocado orchards produce an average of seven tons of the fruit per he ctare each year, with some orchards achieving 20 tons per hectare. The fruit is native to Mexico and Central America, although large quantities of avocados are also exported from Israel and South Africa. The avocado is delicate and does not tolerate freezing temperatures and can be grown only in subtropical and tropica l climates. Main exporter: Mexico Food miles to UK: 5,500 C02 ( g per avocado): by sea 0.03; by air 0.89 Price: 1.99/600g, 3.32/ g (Waitrose) PEARS One of the oldest cultivated fruits, the pear regularly popped up in Roman fruit bowls. With more than 30 species, there are few climates that the tree - which can survive temperatures as low as -30C - doesn't thrive in, and wild specimens can be found in Devon and Cornwall. However, all too often we rely on exports fr om South America and China. Typical exporter: Argentina Food miles to UK: 6,900 CO2 ( g per g): by sea 0.22; by air 6.3 Price: 1.60 per g BLUEBERRIES Although blueberries are native to North America, they are also grown in Austral ia, New Zealand, South American countries, and Poland, before being air-shipped as fresh produce to mar ets around the world. Full of antioxidants, these berrie s may be good to eat, but they're dreadful for the environment. Typical exporter: South Africa Food miles to UK: 5,600 Carbon ( g/pac ): by sea 0.03; by air 0.77 Price: approx 3.00/150g 10/ g CHAMPAGNE Dom Pierre Prignon spent years trying to eep the bubbles out of his invention. I n 17th-century France they were considered a sign of bad wine-ma ing, but the Be nedictine mon 's aristocratic clients quic ly developed a taste for fizz and, re alising his success, he told prospective clients that it "tasted li e stars". Gl obal consumption now exceeds 300 million bottles a year, and every single one co mes from the Champagne region of northern France. Main exporter: France Food miles to UK: 239 CO2 ( g per bottle): by sea 0.007; by air 0.2 Price: approx 20

GREEN BEANS Given that green beans come dried, frozen and canned, it seems unbelievable that they are grown in places such as Zambia, Kenya and Zimbabwe, and then transport ed to the UK. Refrigeration not only toughens their s ins, but also leaches thei r nutrients. Typical exporter: Zambia Food miles to UK: 4,900 CO2 ( g per pac ): by sea 0.03; by air 0.9 Price: approx 7.50 per g BABY SWEETCORN The star of stir-fries the country over, baby sweetcorn from foreign climes is a pale imitation of its freshly pic ed counterpart. It's best when coo ed within 30 minutes of harvest, but since much of the sweetcorn that is sold in Britain i s grown in Thailand, there's little chance of tasting it at its best. Typical exporter: Thailand Food miles to UK: 5,900 CO2 ( g per pac ): by sea 0.04; by air 1.03 Price: 99p/130g 7.62/ g SWEET POTATOES According to 2004 Food and Agriculture Organisation figures, world production of sweet potatoes is 127,000,000 tons. The majority comes from China with a produc tion of 105,000,000 tons. However, about half of the Chinese crop is used for li vestoc feed rather than fancy mash. Main exporter: China Food miles to Britain: 5,000 C02 ( g/ g): by sea 0.16; by air 0.92 Price: approx 1.50/ g LAMB There are 10 times as many sheep as people in New Zealand and more than half of the country's lamb exports travel thousands of miles to the EU, where the UK is the number one customer. Main exporter: New Zealand Food miles to UK: 11,700 C02 ( g/ g): by sea 0.38; by air 10.7 Price: 4.99/680g 7.34/ g (Sainsbury's) CANNED TUNA Yellowfin tuna can be found in the Pacific and Indian oceans. Once caught, they find their way to Thailand, the biggest producer of tinned tuna in the world. Ab out 70 per cent of all fish eaten in Britain originates in foreign waters. Main exporter: Thailand Food miles to UK: 5,900 CO2 ( g/pac ): by sea 0.04; by air 1.0 Price: 30p/185g; 2.20/ g Better buy British: five favourite local foods

STRAWBERRIES Season: mid-April to late September Typical origin: Hereford Price: 2.94 per 450g Commonly imported, strawberries are pic ed before they ripen to prevent damage d uring transport. However, as they undergo no further ripening once pic ed, it is advisable to ma e the most of the British variety while in season. WATERCRESS Season: April to early November Typical origin: Hampshire, Dorset Price: 1.16 per 100g, bagged Grown in Southern England since the early 19th century, watercress has anti-canc er properties. Once a popular infusion, it was brewed with lemon and sugar and u sed as a tonic. ASPARAGUS When: May to mid-June Typical origin: nationwide Price: 7.96 per ilo In season for a tantilisingly short period of time, asparagus was traditionally only grown in the Vale of Evesham in Worcestershire, East Anglia, London and Ken t, but is now common throughout the UK. WELSH LAMB When: late May to mid-October Typical origin: Monmouthshire, South Wales Price: 10.19 per ilo A delicacy revered by the French, Welsh lamb is reared on wild mountain pasture and is characterised by a depth of flavour and succculence. MACKEREL When: June to October Typical origin: Scotland Price: 6.98 per ilo A common fish in the North Atlantic, the mac erel has been eaten in the United K ingdom for centuries and is an excellent source of vitamin B12 and omega-3. RESEARCH BY SIMON USBORNE, ABIGAIL OUTHWAITE AND REBECCA ARMSTRONG Excerpt from: Blythman, J. (May 2007) Food miles: The true cost of putting imported food on yo ur plate. The Independent Retrieved from: http://www.independent.co.u /environment/green-living/food-miles-the-true-cost-o f-putting-imported-food-on-your-plate-451139.html