Climate impact of food miles three times greater than previously believed, study finds

Transporting food produces an estimated 3bn tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year, a new study suggests. Photograph: Orlando Kissner/AFP/Getty Images

Transporting food from where it is produced to our dinner plates creates at least triple the amount of greenhouse gas emissions as previously estimated, a new study suggests.

So called “food miles” are likely responsible for about 6% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, the authors of the study found after calculating that 3bn tonnes of CO₂-equivalent was produced in transporting food for human consumption each year.