Yes, food miles matter for air-freighted goods, but production choices and diet usually drive most food-related emissions.
Shoppers hear about “food miles” all the time—how far a product travels from farm to plate. Distance sounds like the clear villain. The reality is more nuanced. Transport can raise a product’s footprint, yet in many cases the biggest share comes from how that food was grown, processed, and stored. This guide breaks the topic down so you can make better choices without guesswork.
Do Food Miles Matter For Climate?
Yes, in some cases a lot. In others, not much. Mode of transport, storage, and what you eat in the first place all shape the total footprint. Air cargo for delicate produce packs a punch. Ocean shipping spreads the load across massive volumes. Trucks dominate the last leg. The same item shipped by plane vs by sea can land in very different places on the emissions scale.
What “Food Miles” Actually Capture
Food miles track distance. That’s useful, but distance alone can mislead. Two apples with the same distance can carry different impacts if one flew and the other sailed, or if one sat in a cold store for months while another came in-season. The lesson: pair distance with mode, timing, and storage.
Transport Modes At A Glance
Use this quick map to see when distance matters most.
| Transport Mode | When It’s Used | What It Means For Emissions |
|---|---|---|
| Air | Fragile, short-shelf-life produce; rush shipments | High per-kilogram impact; small share of tonnage, big per-item hit |
| Sea | Grains, canned goods, hardy fruit, shelf-stable items | Low per-kilogram intensity across long distances |
| Road/Rail | Farm to processor; regional distribution; last-mile | Adds up through frequent, shorter legs; trucks dominate domestic miles |
Most global food moves by ship, not by plane, which keeps transport’s share smaller for many products. Only a sliver flies, yet that sliver carries an outsized impact per kilogram. Our World in Data explains this pattern and shows how tiny air’s share of food ton-kilometers is compared with sea freight—while noting air’s steep intensity per kilogram. See their breakdown of food transport by mode for context.
Why Distance Is Not The Whole Story
Production often dominates. Beef from methane-heavy cattle, cheese, and long-frozen meat can dwarf the mileage piece. Plant foods grown in efficient regions can beat local options grown in energy-hungry hothouses. In short: what you buy matters more than where it traveled, unless that travel involved a plane.
Local vs Seasonal vs Mode: Which Wins?
Local Produce
Buying nearby can cut last-mile trucking and build resilient supply. Still, if the local version needs heated greenhouses or long cold storage, the gains shrink. Local shines for short-season items sold fresh without months of chilling.
Seasonal Produce
In-season crops—grown outdoors, picked near peak—tend to skip heavy heating and long storage. That can beat out-of-season counterparts even when shipped by sea. Seasonality often pairs well with lower transport intensity and fewer losses.
Mode Of Transport
Mode can flip the story. Air-freighted berries, asparagus, or green beans often carry a large per-kilogram footprint. The same foods moved by sea or truck from a regional farm can come in far lower. When labels flag “air freight,” that’s your cue to rethink the basket.
What The Research Says
Two threads shape the debate. A landmark U.S. life-cycle study found production dominates average food footprints, with transport making up a smaller slice; shoppers cut far more emissions by shifting toward lower-impact foods than by chasing nearby sources alone. More recent global work tallied wider supply-chain transport and reached a higher share for transport overall, with produce and affluent diets raising the mileage share. The takeaway: both can be true, depending on scope and diet mix.
For mode patterns and context on how little food actually flies, review the Our World in Data explainer on transport modes and food. For a wider system estimate that lifts transport’s slice to roughly one-fifth when upstream links are counted, see the 2022 analysis in Nature Food (Global food-miles emissions). Both viewpoints help you weigh distance against diet.
Air Freight: The Red Flag To Watch
Air cargo is the standout. Per kilogram, planes emit far more than ships or trains. That’s why a punnet of berries flown in winter can outweigh weeks of local driving. Not every store marks air freight, but you can spot clues: fragile greens out of season, asparagus in late winter, fresh beans during the cool months. If freshness feels off for the time of year, there’s a good chance it flew.
When Long Distance Still Makes Sense
Plenty of staples sail across oceans with a low transport share per kilogram. Dried beans, rice, canned tomatoes, and cooking oils move well by ship. Even fresh fruit like apples or citrus can travel by refrigerated sea containers with a modest transport slice compared with production. In these cases, farm practices, yields, and processing choices matter more than distance.
The Often-Missed Piece: Cold Chains And Storage
Cooling keeps food safe and reduces spoilage, yet it uses energy and refrigerants. Long storage for out-of-season goods adds an extra layer to the footprint. Better cold-chain tech and tighter handling can cut waste and energy use. Recent assessments show electricity use for cooling across systems is large, and improving efficiency reduces both losses and emissions. In short, smart storage beats long chill times for the same item.
Diet Shifts Beat Distance Tweaks
Switching a few meals from beef or lamb to legumes, grains, or lower-impact seafood moves the needle far more than shaving a few miles off transport. That doesn’t mean distance never counts. It means your plate mix sits higher on the lever list than the odometer for most weeks of the year.
How To Shop With Confidence
Pick Seasonal First
Start with what’s in season where you live or within your region. You’ll lean on outdoor production and trim storage. Flavor improves too.
Scan For Air-Likely Items
Out-of-season berries, soft herbs, fresh asparagus, and tender beans in the cool months often travel by plane. Choose frozen or canned if you want them year-round.
Favor Ship-Friendly Staples
Dry goods and canned items travel by sea with relatively low transport intensity. Quality holds well across distance.
Buy What You’ll Eat
Food tossed in the bin cancels every careful choice you made. Plan meals, portion smartly, and use leftovers.
Product-By-Product: Where Distance Matters Most
Here’s a handy guide to help you weigh distance, mode, and season on common items. Use it to switch choices without giving up the foods you like.
| Food | Better Bet | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Berries In Winter | Frozen berries; preserved fruit | Skips air freight; locks in peak-season harvest |
| Asparagus In Late Winter | Wait for spring; pick local/regional | Cuts air cargo risk; fresher at peak |
| Green Beans In Cool Months | Frozen beans; regional fresh in warm months | Reduces flying; steady quality |
| Beef Cuts | Smaller portions; poultry or legumes in some meals | Production footprint drops more than distance tweaks |
| Apples In Early Summer | In-season stone fruit or stored apples from efficient cold chains | Avoids long storage on old harvests |
| Leafy Herbs Year-Round | Potted herbs; dried herbs for cooking | Fewer air shipments; less spoilage |
| Seafood | Canned fish; frozen fillets | Ships well; transport share stays modest |
| Dairy | Buy what you’ll use; pick efficient producers | Farm practices dominate; waste hurts more than miles |
A Simple Decision Flow
Step 1: Is It In Season?
If yes, choose fresh. If not, check frozen or preserved options. That swaps long storage and air freight for peak-harvest processing.
Step 2: Could It Have Flown?
Soft produce out of season is a clue. If the answer is “maybe,” pick a preserved option or a different fresh item.
Step 3: Can You Swap The Protein?
Try pulses or poultry once or twice a week in place of beef or lamb. You’ll make a bigger dent than driving to a closer store.
Step 4: Will You Use It All?
Buy smaller packs, keep a “use-first” bin in the fridge, and plan a weekly leftovers night. Cutting waste multiplies every gain above.
Cold Chain Tips At Home
Store food at the right temperature, keep door openings short, and cool leftovers promptly. These small habits trim energy use and prevent spoilage. They also keep you from rebuying the same produce after it spoils, which silently raises the footprint of a meal.
How Retailers And Shippers Are Changing
Grocers and logistics firms are shifting to sea where possible, smoothing routes to fill trucks, and tuning cold storage for better efficiency. That means your cart benefits even before you choose between two tomatoes. Still, the last choice—fresh flown in January or canned from last summer—belongs to you.
Common Myths, Cleared Up
“Local Always Beats Long Distance”
Not always. A region with mild weather and efficient farms can beat a nearby producer running heated hothouses. Pair local with seasonal for the best odds.
“Air Freight Is Rare, So I Don’t Need To Care”
Air is rare by weight, but its per-kilogram intensity is high. One air-shipped item in a basket can outweigh many miles by ship.
“Distance Is The Main Thing To Watch”
Diet and production usually matter more. Tackle those first, then trim miles where it’s easy—skip air-likely items out of season and plan your shop to avoid waste.
Practical Swaps That Keep Flavor
- Tomatoes in winter → canned tomatoes for sauces
- Fresh berries in winter → frozen mixes for smoothies and desserts
- Imported fresh beans in cool months → frozen beans for stir-fries
- Two beef dinners this week → one beef, one lentil or chickpea dish
- Soft herbs year-round → potted basil or dried oregano/thyme for cooking
What To Do When Labels Are Vague
Country of origin helps, but mode is rarely shown. Use seasonality and texture as hints. Ask the produce manager when in doubt. For packaged goods, frozen and canned options usually signal ship-friendly supply chains.
Why This Topic Gets Mixed Answers
Studies use different boundaries. Some count only the last leg; others include upstream transport between farms, processors, and ports. That’s why you’ll see lower shares in older work focused on the last mile and higher shares in newer papers that include the wider network. Both shed light on different parts of the system. Our World in Data outlines mode shares and intensity; the 2022 Nature Food paper lifts transport’s slice when upstream links are counted. Read both angles to get the full picture: transport by mode and global food-miles emissions.
Bottom Line
Distance can matter, but what you eat and how it was produced matter more for most baskets. Skip air-likely fresh produce when out of season. Favor ship-friendly staples. Choose seasonal and reduce waste. Those steps deliver steady gains without sacrificing taste or budget.