Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
produced in a heated greenhouse, possibly in The Netherlands. Alternatively, they
could buy roses grown in Kenya and airfreighted to Europe. Kenya is six times
more carbon efficient when it comes to growing roses than The Netherlands, even
if the emissions associated with airfreight are included (Edwards-Jones et al.
2008
;
Wrangler
2006
).
To the Kenyan grower, those in Europe who advocate not purchasing Kenyan
roses because of airfreight's contribution to global warming seems disingenuous.
Firstly the amount of carbon emission that airfreight of fresh fruit and vegetables
contributes is as little as 0.1 % of total UK carbon emissions (Garside et al, n.d) and
secondly according to the USA Energy Information Administration, the UK emits
8.5 t of CO
2
e per person per year whilst the Kenyan emission is 0.3 t of CO
2
e per
person per year (Anon
2010
). However the debate on CO
2
e emissions and the “food
miles” is important and the comparisons made on the contribution of transporting
horticultural produce to global warming is complex, difficult to quantify and needs
more research. However there are also wider issues of fair trade, ethical employ-
ment, environmental protection and product safety, and through this the consumer
can buy with a clear conscience and contribute to the income of many in the devel-
oping world (Wainwright
2008
).
Conclusion
The past decade has seen an increasing awareness of man's activities on the planet's
environment. The horticultural value chain has affected virtually every aspect of the
environment. In addition we have seen greater advances in quantifying the impact
of horticultural activity on the environment. By understanding and measuring, then
scientists and growers themselves have been able ways to minimise their effect on
the environment through the use of technology and management strategies. This
is likely to be an on-going scenario. However the climate change we are seeing
currently is as a result of practices totally outside horticulture and in future global
warming and the environmental impact on horticultural production may be more
important than horticulture's impact on the environment.
References
Anon (2003) Irrigation best practise. Water management for field vegetable crops: a guide for
vegetable growers. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, London
Anon (2006) BS EN ISO 14040:2006 Environmental management Life cycle assessment—Prin-
ciples and framework. BSI, London
Anon (2010) International energy statistics. U.S Energy Information Administration.
http://www.
&eyid=2010&unit=MMTCD.
Accessed 20 Jan 2013
Anon (2011a) PAS 2050 specification for the assessment of the life cycle greenhouse gas emis-
sions of goods and services. BSI, London
