Foodmiles.com

More About Food Miles

Some Fun facts about our Food Miles Calculator*

In total the tool has been used 9,875,040 times!

Total distance calculated by the tool: 26,501,242,626 miles.

That is approximately:

  • 1,064,264 times around the earth!
  • 55,476 times to the moon and back!
  • 3,830,766 return flights from London to New York!
  • 30,321,788 End to End treks - the length of Britain, Land's End to John o'Groats!

And how's our space race going?

  • Reached the Sun (done).
  • Reached Jupiter (done).
  • Reached Saturn (done).
  • Reached Uranus (done).
  • Reached Neptune (done).
  • Reached Pluto (done).

The average distance calculated is: 4,076 miles

Food Miles Calculator Tag Cloud

This shows the most "tracked" items using the food miles calculator!

Almonds Appel Apple Apricots Asparagus Aubergine Avocado Baby Corn Bacon Baguette Baked Beans Banana Basil Basmati Rice Beans Beef Beef Mince Beer Beetroot Bell Pepper Berries Biscuits Black Pepper Blackberries Blueberries Brazil Nuts Bread Broccoli Brown Sugar Burger Butter Butternut Squash Cabbage Cake Carrots Cashew Nuts Cashews Caster Sugar Cauliflower Celery Cereal Cheddar Cheese Cheese Cherries Cherry Tomatoes Chicken Chicken Breast Chicken Nuggets Chickpeas Chilli Chillies Chips Chocolate Chopped Tomatoes Chorizo Cinnamon Clementines Coco Cocoa Cocoa Beans Cocoa Powder Coconut Coconut Milk Cod Coffee Coffee Beans Cookies Coriander Corn Cornflakes Courgette Crackers Cranberries Cream Crisps Croissant Cucumber Cumin Curry Curry Powder Custard Dates Deez Nuts Doritos Dragon Fruit Durian Easy Peeler Oranges Eggs Fennel Seeds Feta Cheese Figs Fish Flour Food Fruit Fusilli Pasta Garlic Ginger Golden Delicious Apples Grapefruit Grapes Gravy Green Beans Green Tea Guava Ham Ham Stock Hamburger Honey Hot Dog Ice Cream Iceberg Lettuce Jalapenos Jam Ketchup Kidney Beans Kimchi Kiwi Kiwi Fruit Lamb Leeks Lemons Lentils Lettuce Lime Long Grain Rice Lychee Macaroni Mandarins Mange Tout Mangetout Mango Maple Syrup Mayonnaise Meat Meatballs Melon Milk Mince Mmm Mozzarella Mozzarella Cheese Mushrooms Mustard Nectarines Nescafe Gold Blend Coffee New Potatoes Noodles Nutella Nuts Oats Oil Olive Oil Olives Onions Orange Juice Oranges Oregano Oreo Palm Oil Pancakes Papaya Paprika Parmesan Parmesan Cheese Parsley Parsnips Passata Passion Fruit Pasta Peaches Peanut Butter Peanuts Pears Peas Pepperoni Peppers Pesto Pickles Pineapple Pink Lady Apples Pizza Plantain Plums Pomegranate Popcorn Pork Pork Sausages Potatoes Prawns Pringles Pumpkin Quinoa Radish Raisins Ramen Raspberries Red Chilli Red Grapes Red Onion Red Pepper Rice Runner Beans Salad Salami Salmon Salt Sardines Satsumas Sausages Seaweed Shrimp Soy Sauce Soya Spaghetti Spices Spinach Spring Onions Star Fruit Steak Strawberries Sugar Sugar Cane Sugar Snap Peas Sunflower Oil Sushi Sweet Potatoes Sweetcorn Sweets Tacos Tangerines Tea Tinned Tomatoes Tomato Puree Tomato Sauce Tomatoes Tortilla Tuna Turkey Vanilla Vanilla Extract Vegetable Oil Vegetables Waffles Water Watermelon Wheat Wholewheat Fusilli Pasta Wine Yeast Yoghurt Yogurt

Only the most-tracked items make the cloud above - browse every food we've tracked, or every country, for the full list.

Food Mile Considerations

Now that you have used our Food Miles Calculator you have a rough idea of how far the food has come to get to you.

This isn't however the whole story, there are many other factors to consider when you work out the environmental impact of your food.

Internal Travel

Remember, because our tool can only track items from capital to capital it doesn't give the whole story.

Country Of Origin

In the country of origin there are a lot of things to consider, things like:

  • What products or treatments have been used to treat or grow the item? This would include any feeds etc for livestock and fertilisers for fruits and vegetables
  • Has the item been picked and shipped around prior to leaving the country?
  • How has the item been packaged and packed?

This was highlighted by a well-known 2006 study from Lincoln University in New Zealand, which found that the overall environmental impact of NZ lamb was less than that of Welsh lamb - even including the shipping to the UK. Report (PDF) - the study is now two decades old, so treat it as a starting point for the idea rather than the final word on today's supply chains.

Destination Country

Food miles can be added to a product when it is in the final destination country. These include any internal movement of stock between distribution centres and supermarkets, travel to and from the point of purchase and even disposal of waste from the product!

Grow Your Own

An obvious answer to the food miles debate is of course to grow your own and keep the food mileage down to about 50ft! This isn't obviously the answer for all things as we don't all have a few acres spare to graze sheep etc.

Growing your own does have the added advantage of allowing you to track exactly what chemicals if any are used. Good for the planet and good for you.

Finally

The point here is that food miles are a very complicated thing, so the tool we have put together for you is only one part of the story. It can give a good indication of the miles your food has travelled to reach you and the carbon produced as a result.

In general, local food - that is locally produced and sold - is best, so buying this would normally be the safer option!

* since 17/03/09