Local Food Hero - 03.01.08
March 2, 2008
This Week’s Radio
Local Food Hero — AM 950 KTNF — The Voice of Minnesota
1:00, March 01, 2008
Outstanding in Their Field: Greg Reynolds, Riverbend Farm www.rbfcsa.com
What’s in the Pot: Mike Phillips, The Craftsman Bar and Restaurant www.craftsmanrestaurant.com
Setting Fire to the Strawman - Greg Reynolds
There has been some discussion about food miles versus carbon footprint and lifecycle assessment. I think that it started with an eat local campaign in England that said ‘the fewer miles food travels, the better’. The Enonomist (Dec. 7, 2006) mentioned that organics are ruining the planet and referenced a study that said shipping lamb from New Zealand has less environmental impact than raising it in England. New York Times OpEd (Aug. 6, 2007) weighed in on the topic and mostly came down on the side of ‘let the big guys take care of it, keep shopping.’ They mentioned the same NZ lamb study and put in a good word for shipping potatoes by rail.There is a kernal of truth in that the entire carbon footprint of food needs to be looked at, not just the distance from the field to the fork. Shipping field grown tomatoes, by boat, from Spain to Sweden surely consumes less energy than growing them in greenhouses outside Stockholm in the winter. But that is not the whole story.The Leopold Center found that food usually (87%) travels by truck in this country. Rhys at Coop Partners Warehouse says that all of their produce comes by truck. A semi gets 4 or 5 miles to the gallon and can haul 40-50,000 pounds of freight. That means that they can move 80 – 125 tons one mile per gallon of fuel burned. Not bad. Lets call it 100TMPG. Now that it is just a number, it also means that they can move one ton 100 miles per gallon of fuel. At this point you could imagine a light, diesel powered car that gets 100 mpg, but that is another topic entirely. The gallon of diesel fuel that moves the ton 100 miles produces 22.4 pounds of CO2 when it is burned.If a semi truck is loaded with apples in Seattle Washington and brings them 1629 miles to Minneapolis, it will emit {(1629 miles¸ 100tmpg) X 22.4lb/g or} 365 lb CO2 per ton of apples delivered.If apples do get shipped by rail, that will produce 86 lb CO2 for each ton of apples delivered.For comparison, lets say that Pat puts 20 boxes of apples in a red Dodge Caravan and delivers them from Annandale to the Wedge. He probably went for the big V6 motor and gets about 20 (23 EPA) mpg. That means that Pat is moving 800 pounds 20 miles per gallon of gas, or 8TMPG. The gallon of gas that moves a ton of local apples 8 miles produces 19.5 lb CO2 when it is burned.It is 46 miles to the Wedge so his van will emit 114 lb CO2 per ton of apples delivered. Roughly 1/3 of the rate of apples from the west coast by truck, but more than the hypothetical rail shipment.
But this is not a fair comparison. The semi truck and train were assumed to be fully loaded. Pat’s van is rated as a 7 passenger van so it can probably handle three quarters of a ton rather than just 800 pounds of cargo. If we assume that his van was fully loaded, it is emitting just under 60 lb CO2 for each ton of apples delivered to the Wedge, about 1/3 less than shipping apples from Washington by rail.
Concerned about carbon footprint ? You’ll have to use your head. And pay attention to who is telling the story. The study comparing New Zealand and English lamb was paid for by New Zealand sheep producers. It compares pastured NZ animals to grain fed English lambs. Our food system is set up to favor industrialization, consolidation, and long distance shipping. Who benefits ? Who benefits from GMOs, growth hormones, and antibiotics in our food ?
I have my biases. I want people around here to buy more local organic produce. I’d like our grandchildren to have a chance.
Greg
Thanks for the support folks!
Entry Filed under: broadcasts. Tags: carbon footprint, Craftsman Restaurant, food miles, Greg Reynolds, Local Food Hero, Mike Phillips, Riverbend Farm.
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