Food miles: Encouraging people to purchase locally grown food
Food miles (or food kilometers) is a term used to explain the distance that food is transported as it travels from its maker to its consumer. The concept is used to highlight how distant a food is transported through global trade & also the cost of doing so in economic, environmental & social terms. It's important to pay attention to food miles because when a food is transported a long distance; it loses a great deal of its original taste & nutritional value. Longer transport times also influence the environment, while the transport vehicles release pollution into the atmosphere and consume natural fuels.
Although it's difficult to calculate your product's food miles to a precise degree, an understanding of where it was shipped from will give you an overall idea. If you live in America, for example, then it's certain that food shipped from Europe will contain many food miles. You will get food that is fresher & more nutritious. Local food sold in markets & co-operatives is likely to have been harvested soon beforehand. Furthermore, local farmers can offer varieties of produce tailored to personal taste, rather than consumer themselves with adding ingredients that increase the food's shelf life.