Vote!
Is it wrong to buy air-freighted food?
- 33% are saying yes
- 67% are saying no
comments from readers
- DarylS
26 March 2008 - no
This is a difficult issue. The question really is far too broad. If everyone gave up buying air-freighted food tomorrow then then damage to producers in the Developing world would be devastating. However I would argue that it is very wrong to eat food that is shipped from the Southern Hemisphere for the sake of eating food that is out of season in Europe. I think we need to be more responsible about eating seasonal food, and in the long term we need to find ways of making regions self sufficient. For example Africans being able to eat the crops they produce instead of having to ship them to Europe.
26 March 2008- no
Air freight is often most efficiently packed and therefore more carbon-efficient. However, air freight is inexcusable to import goods that can be produced in the UK.
- Colonel Blimp
27 March 2008 - no
No. It's wrong to buy food that's locally grown.
- writeon
27 March 2008 - yes
There is a kind of tragic irony involved in the absurd almost criminal act of importing pure thousand year old ice for ones cocktail from Greenland by air. Think about it!
- Ravi Samson
27 March 2008 - yes
Think Global Buy Local
- robinmartin
28 March 2008 - no
The market will decide.
- explodingbadger
28 March 2008 - yes
The market will decide ??! I think global warming is just a LITTLE bit more important than what market wants
- Cybertiger
28 March 2008 - yes
Buy local sprouts ... the future is local ... but I do love avocado!!
- samuel banda
28 March 2008 - no
buy local sprouts_the future is local but I do love avocadol
28 March 2008- no
If it's cheaper than home produced, of course! The equation to determine whether it produces more Carbon dioxide is much more complicated than most "eco-warriors" can understand, and air-freighted goods often beats local both on price and pollution!
- Frank Amies
28 March 2008 - yes
Buy local. Support British farmers, save the planet
- Helen Heenan
29 March 2008 - no
Air freighted food is often a source of income in poor countries. If we are worried about gobal warming then it is wrong to build coal fired power stations instead of investing in renewable sources of energy.
- patricia borlenghi
29 March 2008 - yes
we should eat seasonal food and as the environmental aspect of airfreight adds to pollution, it is all rather unnecessary.
- vascodesousa
29 March 2008 - no
Environmentally, air-freighting food doesn't do much. Air freighting people, and those who drive for miles to a supermarket (spending pounds in gas to save pennies on groceries) both have far greater impacts on fuel used and pollution created.
It would be great if Britain could feed itself, and if old farm land wasn't wasted by property speculators to build ugly appartments that no one lives in full time.
It would be great if the government stopped some of its building projects and opted for self sufficiency instead.
(perhaps using local coal instead of air or boat freighted coal could be a step to a cleaner environment.)
- SueW
30 March 2008 - no
Air freight is one of the easiest ways of getting goods from the producers in poor countries to consumers in rich countries. We have to think globally here, not just of ourselves.
- merlin
30 March 2008 - yes
In a world where air travel for whatever purpose is escalating and making a major contribution to climate change we cannot just keep burying our heads in the sand.
Food was transported by sea very successfully over the centuries and we need to consider our position now very carefully. Surely at least we need to take stock of what we are doing.
Using the plight of poor countries as justification for air transport is acceptable of course, provided the rich countries pull back on their use of air travel to compensate - as it is the poor countries who lose on all counts when it comes to global warming.
They didn't contribute to carbon emissions and yet they are the first to suffer!
Let's be a little more responsible while we are still capable of changing things! - mikh
01 April 2008 - no
Climate change has a lot going for it. Let's adapt to it, and move on - there's much more pressing issues, like feeding people.
- npgdavies
03 April 2008 - no
Others are worse...but that isn't a great recommendation for us.
- katyrick
03 April 2008 - no
Rick
in Europe perhaps - JL
03 April 2008 - yes
Worst in Western Europe, yes. Worst in the world, definitely not.
- Tohru62
04 April 2008 - no
I think its not because there are worst places than britain like africa thats a pretty bad place to grow up in.
- ricardo
04 April 2008 - no
British education has allowed me to travel the world and give me choices in life. it is in n way the worst country rto be brought up in. Working class lad with an education. Richard BC April 4, 08
- Nathalie
06 April 2008 - yes
The more I read about children growing up, the more I see that Europeans, even poor Latin countries or isolated parts of China, for crying out loud, who are so poor and have no hope for a good education or a good job, seem to be better countries than the Anglosaxon ones. There's something that is not working. I haven't been able to put my finger on it (or them). But something is wrong in Britain. Australia is not that bad...... at the moment!
