§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what initiatives she has undertaken to persuade supermarkets(a) to reduce food miles and (b) to source food products from the locality of their stores. [104613]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 24 March 2003]: The Government are keen to see supermarkets re-examine supply routes to reduce journeys wherever sensible. However, the issues involved are complex and reducing food miles may not always be the most environmentally preferable solution in terms of reducing overall energy consumption. To help clarify the issues, Defra and DfT are supporting a study by Transport 2000 into the scope for reducing food miles in selected product sectors by using local suppliers and different distribution patterns. 648W The Advisory Committee on Consumer Products and the Environment and the Sustainable Development Commission are also planning to do work in this area.
The Strategy for Sustainable Food and Farming reiterated the Government's commitment to developing a comprehensive Food Industry Sustainability Strategy to provide strategic direction and set priorities for the food industry. Work is now in hand to take forward the drafting of this strategy. We recognise that the strategy will need to cover difficult issues such as food miles. Defra has recently commissioned external research on food miles. The purpose of this research is to establish preferred statistical measure(s) of food miles and their validity as indicators for assessing progress towards sustainability in the food chain.
Many of the major retailers are introducing policies which should lead to an increase in the range of locally sourced produce stocked, in response to consumer demand. In addition Food From Britain, which we grant-aid, is working with the large supermarkets to encourage the sale of quality regional produce. Defra has also helped finance workshops organised by the Institute of Grocery Distribution, designed to bring together supermarkets and small local producers to explore how barriers to local sourcing can be overcome.