And there was I, thinking that organic veg was all about being free of pesticides (however silly that worry is). Apparently not:
The Soil Association, which licenses 85 per cent of
Britain’s organic produce, is consulting on a range of policies to
reduce the environmental impact of food being flown to Britain from
thousands of miles away.
Among the proposals under
consideration to cut "food miles" is a ban on air-freighted produce
using the organic label. These vegetables are said to be responsible
for 11 per cent of the carbon emissions produced by British food
transport.
I have a feeling that if the do this they’ll regret it. For once we open up the definition of "organic" to how much CO2 is produced then many domestic producers are going to find themselves decertified. For example, New Zealand lamb, even with the shipping, produces less CO2 than home grown. Spanish field tomatoes less than home grown hothouse ones.
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