Don’t go the extra mile: is local food better for the environment? — SkimNews
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- Transport accounts for about 19% of global food system emissions across the entire supply chain, per a Nature Food study co-authored by University of Sydney's Mengyu Li.
- Mengyu Li at the University of Sydney says nearly a third of global greenhouse gas emissions stem from the food system, with livestock and land clearing the largest contributors, not transport.
- For beef and lamb, transport emissions are dwarfed by methane from digestion, land clearing for grazing, and manure management — Li says replacing red meat with plant-based protein offers greater emissions reductions than buying local.
- FoodSwitch data from the George Institute for Global Health shows the "biggest single thing" consumers can do is eat less meat and swap beef or lamb for poultry or vegetarian meals, managing director Fraser Taylor says.
- Ceres Fair Food in Melbourne sources from local market gardens and small farms, with each delivery van serving 40 to 50 households to cut last-mile emissions, and offers reusable, refillable, and returnable packaging.
- Kimberley Reis at Griffith University says Australia's average farmer age is rising, with rising land prices, cheaper imports, and supermarket specials making it harder for new farmers to enter the industry.
Why it matters: For consumers, the biggest personal climate lever in food isn't buying local — it's reducing red meat, since livestock and land clearing dwarf transport's roughly 19% share of food emissions. Local sourcing still wins for produce flown or refrigerated-trucked long distances, and supports aging Australian farmers squeezed by imports.
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