HOW "GREEN" IS YOUR ORGANIC VEG?

For EarthShare's open day in September 2004 I carried out some research into why people join EarthShare, and how EarthShare produce and its packaging and distribution compares with that of organic vegetables available in local supermarkets. Due to popular demand, I have reproduced the display here!

People join EarthShare for various reasons – a minority just want a box of organic veg each week – but most join for additional reasons:

• to support local agriculture and create local jobs,
• to protect the environment by not using herbicides and pesticides,
• to protect local ecosystems and biodiversity,
• to reduce food miles, thus cutting back on greenhouse gas emissions,
• to receive fresh local produce with minimal packaging,
• to eat with the seasons,
• to know where their food has come from and how it has been produced,
• to take part in the growing and production of their food,
• to strengthen local community ties,
• to support the local economy by keeping money circulating within the local community.

So… EarthShare does a lot more than just provide organic veg!

Supermarkets increasingly stock organic products, but they rarely meet any of the above positive criteria that EarthShare subscribers have come to expect:

• supermarket organic veg is excessively packaged,
• even if produce is grown locally, it often travels many miles to be cleaned, graded and packaged,
• a large proportion of organic produce sold in the UK is grown abroad,
• there is no knowing how old the produce is,
• organic farmers growing for supermarkets often have to concentrate on one or two crops, thus reducing biodiversity,
• the notion of seasonal eating is completely lost with produce being flown in from around the world all year round,
• consumers are completely removed from the farmers who grow their food,
• money spent in supermarkets leaves the local community.

Compare a September* EarthShare box
with the equivalent from a local supermarket

EarthShare Standard Box*

Veg	Packaging	Place of origin	Food miles	Quantity	Cost
Beans, broad	nil	Forres	0	1.5 kg	*
Beans, runner	nil	Forres	0	0.25 kg	*
Calabrese/broccoli	nil	Forres	0	0.5 kg	*
Carrots	nil	Forres	0	1.8 kg	*
Chard	plastic bag	Forres	0	0.25 kg	*
Courgette	nil	Forres	0	0.5 kg	*
Cucumber	nil	Forres	0	1 ea	*
Garlic	nil	Forres	0	0.12 kg	*
Leeks	nil	Forres	0	0.7 kg	*
Lettuce	Re-used carrier bag	Forres	0	1 ea	*
Onions	nil	Forres	0	2.0 kg	*
Potatoes	nil	Forres	0	4.0 kg	*
Radish	nil	Forres	0	0.25 kg	*
Tomatoes	plastic bag	Forres	0	0.6 kg	*
Verdict	Virtually no packaging	All local	Zero food miles	12.5 kg + 2 items	From £7.40 pw to £8.95 pw

Supermarket Organic Veg*

Veg	Packaging	Place of origin	Food miles	Quantity	Cost
Beans, broad	plastic bag	UK	250	0.5 kg	£1.19
Beans, runner	not available	–	–	–	–
Calabrese/broccoli	plastic wrap	UK	250	0.5 kg	£1.50
Carrots	plastic bag	UK	250	1 kg	£1.02
Chard	not available	–	–	–	–
Courgette	not available	–	–	–	–
Cucumber	plastic wrap	Spain	1500	1 ea	£0.99
Garlic	plastic net bag	Spain	1500	0.10 kg	£0.48
Leeks	not available	–	–	–	–
Lettuce	plastic bag	UK	250	2 ea	£0.99
Onions	plastic net bag	Austria	1000	0.75 kg	£0.87
Potatoes	plastic bag	UK	250	2.5 kg	£1.98
Radish	plastic bag	Holland	750	0.28 kg	£0.99
Tomatoes	plastic box & wrapping	Spain	1500	0.75 kg	£1.49
Verdict	Excessive packaging	From around the UK and Europe	Approx 7250 food miles	6.38 kg + 3 items	£11.50

* comparisons carried out 17-24 September 2004

Home