Do foods imported into the UK have a greater environmental impact than the same foods produced within the UK?

• DOI: 10.1007/s11367-013-0576-2
• Publication Date: 2013-05-01T23:10:19Z
• Authors: J Webb; Adrian G. Williams; Emma Hope; David Evans; Ed Moorhouse
• Keywords: Arable land

Purpose This study of seven foods assessed whether there are modes or locations of production that require significantly fewer inputs, and hence cause less pollution, than others. For example, would increasing imports of field-grown tomatoes from the Mediterranean reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by reducing the need for production in heated greenhouses in the UK, taking account of the additional transport emissions? Is meat production in the UK less polluting than the import of red meat from the southern hemisphere?