Now My Food Has A Message For Me

A significant percentage of items you find in your local supermarket are imported; lamb from New Zealand, bananas from Ecuador, shrimp from Thailand, etc. The transportation of these items from grower to retailer is something that US consumers tend not to dwell on, yet the environmental impact in the transportation of food is immense.

Here in the USA the idea of carbon footprints and buying carbon offsets has not made as much of an impression as it has in Europe. However this may change due to the efforts of Israeli orange growers. With the help of the UK’s Carbon Trust, the exporters found that for every kilogram of oranges shipped from Israel to the UK, which is about 2000 miles, over 125kg of carbon emissions were produced.

To stimulate public awareness orange growers have developed labels to apply to each orange purchased, which informs consumers of the amount of carbon dioxide emissions generated in the growing and shipment of the oranges. The consumer can use the information if they choose to purchase carbon offsets. Plans are in place to roll this out to exports to the US, but with a depressed economy it is unclear how American consumers would react.