Framingham TAB, MA
11-17-06
Should the distances that retail foods travel be a concern ?
By D. Craig MacCormack/ Staff Writer
Turns out it's not just your Aunt Bea and cousin Patty who travel across the
country for your Thanksgiving dinner.
According to a national study published in 2003 by Iowa State University, fresh
produce in the Midwest traveled an average of almost 1,500 miles before
reaching the supermarket, a journey that's sure to test its lifespan.
In fact, according to the study, the typical prepared meal in America has, on
average, ingredients from at least five countries outside the United States.
While Karen Masterson, owner of Big Fresh Cafe on Cochituate Road is hoping
to turn around that trend, she knows she's facing an uphill battle, especially in a
time when people are making judgments on how best to spend their money.
"My hope is we'll be willing to see what good food really costs and spend a little
bit more for it," said Masterson, who opened the cafe about three years ago as a
way for people who wanted to eat locally to do that more often.
"We've lost the connection of who's growing our food and the consequences of
that," she said.
Masterson knows that commercially grown groceries generally costs less, but
she notes the low prices are a reflection of the low wages paid to the workers
who harvest the crops and the maintenance methods used to keep the food safe.
While Big Fresh doesn't use all organic foods yet, Masterson hopes to eventually
get to that point. She also knows it will take time for consumers to get used to
buying only products that are in season, rather than heading to the store to quiet
a craving and being disappointed when the item isn't there.
"Good health starts with good food," said Masterson. "I wouldn't have bought this
business if I didn't believe I could help solve some
"We walk into a supermarket in January and pick up some strawberries, but don't
ask any questions. That needs to change," she said.
Masterson said she's working with a farm in Millis to grow winter greens and
hopes other local farmers will extend their seasons, but she knows she'll have to
rely partly on regional and national farmers at this time of year.
While weather conditions, pesticides and animal scoundrels digging up a garden
can affect what's produced, Masterson said she plans to stick to a mostly locally
grown menu at Big Fresh.
It might be a while, she said, but eventually she wants to see the offerings rotate
based on what's in season. That mentality, though, will take some time to take
root, she said.
"I don't think the public is ready for that yet," she said.
Rich Pirog, the marketing and food systems program leader at Iowa State
University's Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, led the 2003 study
that focused on his area, but can be extrapolated to look at the country.
For example, because most of the garlic in the United States grows in California,
according to a recent Purdue University study, the food miles to reach the East
Coast are even greater than the numbers in the Iowa State initiative.
Food miles are the distance food travels from where it is grown to where it is
ultimately purchased or consumed by the end user. The term food miles has
become part of the vernacular among food system professionals when describing
the farm to consumer pathways of food.
A Weighted Average Source Distance (WASD) can be used to calculate food
miles by combining information on the distances from production to point of sale
and the amount of food product transported.
In the Iowa State study, local WASD distances ranged from 20 miles for broccoli
and sweet corn to 75 miles for potatoes. Conventional WASD distances ranged
from 311 miles for pumpkins to 1,838 miles for carrots.
The average WASD distance for locally grown produce to reach institutional
markets was 56 miles.
A national U.S. estimate of food miles traveled in 1969 cited an average distance
of 1,346 miles, with some estimates as high as 1,500 miles. In developed,
industrial nations, food appears to be traveling farther to reach consumers.
The inference is that many industrialized countries no longer rely on their own
farmers to fully supply a number of food items. International food trade is
increasing more rapidly than increases in population or food production.
Between 1968 and 1998, world food production increased by 84 percent,
population by 91 percent, while food trade increased 184
An increasing proportion of what Americans eat is produced in other countries,
according to Pirog's study, including almost 40 percent of fruits, 12 percent of
vegetables, 40 percent of lamb, and almost 80 percent of fish and shellfish in
2001.
Examination of food imports from the USDA Economic Research Service
database reveals that the amount of imported produce consumed by Americans
has been rising since 1970, which implies that the average food miles for a
number of produce items has been increasing over time.
But it's not just about the distance food travels, said Pirog. For some chains, such
as Whole Foods Market, there are agreements that limit the amount of time it
takes to get the food from the producers to their stores.
"For a lot of these places, the time is a more important issue than the distance,"
said Pirog.
Terminal markets for produce have declined in importance in the United States;
in 2001 there were only 22 major terminal markets that handle an estimated 30
percent of the volume of the nation's produce.
That includes outposts in Jessup, Md. and Chicago, which are among the closest
to this part of the country.
The decline in terminal market share is a reflection of the increased purchasing
power of integrated wholesale-retail buying entities
"Transporting food thousands of miles when the same thing is grown locally isn't
helping anyone," said Masterson.
Houston-based SYSCO, one of the largest food distributors in the country, is
getting in on the locally grown trend, particularly in the Southwest. The company
is working with 50 food producers in that region to keep food closer to where it's
grown.
Company officials say such an effort will keep the food fresher and safer and limit
the transportation costs of hauling the food from one side of the country to the
other.
Meanwhile, Cornell University is hoping to teach the next generation about the
benefits of locally grown food with a course called "Discovering the Food
System" and a lesson called "Think Globally, Eat Locally."
"People want to buy this kind of food, but they aren't always willing to do the work
necessary to get it," said Masterson. "We're hoping eventually they will see the
benefits of changing their habits."