all blog articles

24 May 2021

Food sustainability is a factor of our eating habits that has come to the forefront in recent years.

It's one of these terms that means different things to different people, but it’s fair to say it incorporates the production of food, fibre, or other plant or animal products in a way that uses techniques to protect the environment, public health, human communities, and the welfare of the animals.

One common factor, without doubt, is food miles: the distance food is transported from its source to reach the kitchen.

Sourcing locally isn’t just part of supporting local businesses, but a genuine way to make our food system more secure and sustainable in the long-term.

We all understand that to complete each leg of a transport journey – whether by road, rail, air or sea – it will require the emission of more (or less) carbon, depending on the starting point.

It’s not always a simple calculation. Sure, some tomatoes will be imported from Spain all year round while others will be grown in season in Scotland.  So far, so straightforward.

But, strangely, a tomato flown in from Spain might actually have used less energy in its ‘production’ than a tomato grown closer to home, but out of season in a heated greenhouse.

Some vegetables are even grown in the UK, transported to a mass packaging and distribution hub, perhaps in Europe or Africa, then processed, packaged and shipped back to the UK to be sold. It all happens super fast, but not super efficiently – at least not in terms of food miles.

But it’s also worth noting that if we stopped importing (or exporting) food altogether then we’d take away a valuable source of income from communities all over the world.  For example, Scotland’s top food export is salmon and our overseas markets make it the UK’s top food export overall as well. (This was certainly true pre-Brexit)

And that is why there is nothing more sustainable (or better tasting in our opinion) than local in-season produce… which is what we guarantee.

We supply restaurants, cafés, takeaways, nursing homes, schools and universities with quality produce year-round. Fruit and vegetables: all of the highest provenance and quality. You can tell your diners where all their ingredients have come from and how your selection of wholesaler is helping keep you keep their food chain fully sustainable.