When the head of lettuce has traveled more than you: The international transport of food causes around three gigatons of _{CO2 emissions} a year - that's 30 percent of the greenhouse budget of all food production! We show why avocado from Peru and oranges from South Africa are such a massive problem for our environment, and what we can do to sustainably reduce _{CO2 emissions} in and the environmental impact of food transport.

Spoiler Alert: It's not enough to push locally produced food!

Environmental impact of_{CO2 emissions} in food transport

It has long been known that the transport of food produces more_CO2 than we can afford in view of the climate crisis. And the fact that the richest countries make up only a small part of the world's population, but are responsible for almost half of the kilometers traveled by food transports, is also no surprise.

An Australian study now concludes that transport emissions in the food sector are not only 3 to 7 times higher than previously estimated, but that they are also far higher than transport emissions for other goods.

Environmental sin food transport in figures

The study conducted by Dr. Mengyu Li of the University of Sydney and her colleagues and published in June 2022 study looks at the contribution of food transport to the life cycle assessment of the food sector. The researchers developed a computer model based on national and international data that allowed them to reconstruct the global food trade network.

The data determined for 74 countries, 37 different sectors and four types of transport include information on the transport kilometers traveled and the associated_{CO2 balances}. The evaluations show that_{CO2 emissions} in food transport are not only higher than previous estimates, but that the transport of certain foodstuffs results in particularly high emissions:

• _{CO2 footprint of} the food sector as a whole: The production, storage and transport of food are responsible for a total of just under 16 gigatons_{of CO2 emissions} per year.
• _{CO2 balance of} food transport as a whole: Of the nearly 16 gigatons of_{CO2 emissions}, 3 gigatons are attributable to the national and international transport of food. This corresponds to 30 percent of the greenhouse budget of total food production (19 percent including land use effects).
• _{CO2 footprint of} transporting fruits and vegetables: the researchers: inside found that transporting fruits and vegetables generates twice as much_{CO2 emissions} as their production due to the need for continuous refrigeration.

_{CO2 emissions} in refrigerated food transport

Healthy eating is very popular with many people - with dire consequences for our environment. Unfortunately, the transport of healthy foods such as fruit and vegetables causes particularly high greenhouse gas emissions: Not only are fruits and vegetables heavier than many other foods, but they also have to be refrigerated.

To this end, retail and logistics companies are required by internationally applicable regulations such as the HACCP concept concept. This stipulates that temperature-sensitive foods must be transported within the required temperature range for the entire duration of the transport.

Temperature-controlled food transport generally causes higher_{CO2 emissions} than the transport of non-refrigerated goods. This is due to the fact that for proper cooling during transport additional energy is required during transport. In principle, companies can also opt for passive cooling of the food, but this is not (yet) practical for long transport routes.

For this reason, foodstuffs are usually actively cooled when transported over long distances. This means that the respective transport vehicle or cargo ship is equipped with a power-supplied refrigeration unit. This runs on the vehicle or ship battery and keeps the temperature in the hold/cargo container constantly within the desired temperature range. 

Since the vehicle or ship battery supplies the genset with power, fuel consumption per kilometer traveled is significantly higher for actively refrigerated vehicles and ships than for non-refrigerated transports. The enormous_{CO2 emissions} in temperature-controlled food transport are therefore primarily due to the increased fuel consumption.

Additional environmental impact due to refrigerants

Refrigeration units require refrigerants to cool foodstuffs or other temperature-sensitive articles down to the prescribed temperatures. In many plants, partially fluorinated hydrocarbons, or HFCs for short, are still used for this purpose today, although their negative effects on the climate and the environment have been known for a long time. Partially fluorinated hydrocarbons have an impact on global warming that is up to 4,000 times (!) greater than_{CO2 emissions}, so they have a massive impact on the environment.

Reduce_{CO2 emissions}: buy local, cool passively

The study, conducted at the University of Sydney in 2022, makes it clear that changing our diet to a plant-based diet is not enough to save the climate. As long as we import strawberries from Spain, apples from Italy, and cucumbers from China, vegetarian diets will cause similar damage to the consumption of fish and meat. In order for us to sustainably reduce_{CO2 emissions} in food transport, we need a greater proportion of locally produced food in our supermarkets. In addition, we need to create awareness that locally produced food is the better choice with regard to our environment.

In fact, around 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions from food transport could be saved if only foods that do not grow in our country due to climatic conditions (for example, tea or coffee) were consistently imported.

Passive cooling on short transport routes

Short distances between manufacturer and retailer or short distances to the end customer have another advantage. The shorter the transport routes , the more potential there is for saving _{CO2 emissions}! For food transport on short routes (e.g. within 36 or 48 hours), retail and logistics companies can rely on passive cooling solutions fall back on.

Passive cooling solutions have a significantly better environmental balance than active cooling systems, as they do not require a power generator . The actively cooled hold or container is replaced by an energy storage system (preferably with highly insulating packaging), which keeps the goods within the prescribed temperature range. 

As an expert in passive cooling for food transport, temprify developed temprify develops sustainable total solutions that reduce costs and protect the environment. Since even dry ice is also not ideal from an environmental we rely 100 percent on high-performance cold packs. The transport in our (deep)cooling boxes guarantees continuous cooling for up to 96 hours. Our tempriRacks enable refrigerated transport without a power-driven unit for same-day delivery (also known as "last mile").

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