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Food Miles

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The obvious fact of food being transported thousands of miles between continents obscures a merry-go-round system of more localised imports and exports, continually multiplying food miles as firms strive for profits based on comparative advantage. So in 2004 Britain imported 17,200 tonnes of chocolate covered wafers and exported 17,600; it imported 25,720 tonnes of milk and cream while exporting 27,125 tonnes.

This is not just a British problem. Tomato ketchup, eaten in many Californian homes, is made with Californian-grown tomatoes that are shipped to Canada for processing and then returned in bottles. The port of New York City exports Californian almonds to Italy while importing similar numbers of Italian almonds for the US market.

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