Food Miles Calculator
Food Miles Calculator
What Are Food Miles?
Food miles measure the distance food travels from its point of production to the consumer. First popularized by Tim Lang in 1992, food miles have become a key metric in sustainable food systems analysis. This calculator goes beyond simple distance to calculate the carbon footprint of each transport leg using DEFRA 2023 emission factors, covering all four major freight modes: cargo ship (0.008 kg CO₂e/tonne-km), rail (0.022), truck (0.062), and air freight (1.013). Defaults model a typical imported product: 8,000 km by sea (e.g., from South America) and 200 km by truck to the final retailer.
How Food Mile Emissions Are Calculated
CO₂e Emissions per Leg = Distance (km) × Weight (tonnes) × Emission Factor (kg CO₂e/tonne-km). Total emissions are the sum across all legs. Emissions per kg food = Total CO₂e ÷ Total cargo weight (kg). Air freight has an emission factor 130× higher than sea freight — a single air-freighted strawberry has a carbon footprint many times larger than the same fruit shipped by sea, which is why airfreighting fresh produce is considered one of the most carbon-intensive food choices. The equivalent car kilometres metric converts total emissions to a relatable measure (assumes 0.21 kg CO₂e/km for an average petrol car).
Understanding Your Results
You can model up to 5 supply chain legs with different transport modes, distances, and cargo weights per leg. The primary result shows total distance in km. The 3-stat bar shows distance, total CO₂e, and CO₂e per kilogram of food. The breakdown table shows each leg's contribution. The bar chart compares emissions by leg — typically revealing that even a small air freight leg dominates the total carbon footprint. Note that food miles alone don't determine environmental impact: locally grown food using energy-intensive greenhouses can have a higher carbon footprint than distant field-grown food shipped by sea.
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