Air Freight Is Under Attack by Environmentalists

Five or ten years ago having strawberries in the middle of winter was seen as a real treat ad they were so expensive.

Nowadays however, the supermarkets are not only able to offer a wide variety of fruits out of season, they are also able to slash the prices on them. This means that eating raspberries in December is an affordable option for more and more people.

The reason they are able to do this is because it has become cheaper and easier to fly fruit into the UK from around the world.

Whilst many people are only too happy to indulge in these off season delicacies, the air freight industry has come under attack recently by green campaigners. These people are concerned about the impact on the environment of importing out of season produce into the UK.

They argue that the air freight industry is producing unnecessary levels of pollution as a result of the demand for off season fruit and vegetables. Some have even gone so far as to demand a ban on the air-freighting of certain foods.

Although most politicians are not in favour of such a ban, some have suggested introducing a food miles scheme. This would involve labeling food to indicate how many miles it has traveled before reaching the UK.

The labels would be in effect an indication of the environmental cost of eating or buying certain foods. The idea is that food labels would allow the public to make an informed choice about what they buy rather than imposing choices on them.

So how has the freight industry responded to these charges and ideas?

Freight representatives have argued that:

1. The pollution generated by air transportation only accounts for a small amount of the UK's total carbon emissions.

2. The freighting of out of season produce only accounts for a tiny percentage of the total food produce imported into the UK every year.

GBS Freight is a freight forwarding company based in the UK that transports cargo around the world by air, sea and roa