08/09/07 Focus on "Food Miles"

Washington Ag August 9, 2007 Organic agriculture is showing tremendous growth but another trend is the explosion of interest in locally produced foods. Washington State University sustainable agriculture specialist David Granatstein says it relates to the greenhouse gas situation and the carbon footprint. Granatstein: "The term that is being used food miles. How far does your food have to travel from where it is produced to where it is consumed. So this has raised the issue of local in a new way. People have been interested in local because they think it is a fresher better tasting product. They feel that local supports more farms or farmers in their area, so there is a farmland protection aspect to it. And certainly with some of the China issues around the quality of imported food where you don't know where it is coming from, I think all these things are spurring the interest in local along with trying to reduce the carbon impact of our food system. And local definitely has a place in that." The food production system may be pretty energy efficient however. Granatstein has heard of a study that says about 50 percent of the carbon impact of food production is the last leg, from the grocery to the person's home. I'm Bob Hoff.