New Zealand: NZ produce is energy efficient

New Zealand farmers are confident that their farming practices are more energy efficient than those of their British counterparts, said Charlie Pedersen, President of Federated Farmers of New Zealand. “Even accounting for energy used in transporting goods to Britain, New Zealand produce is still more energy efficient,” Mr Pedersen said.

His comments follow reports that supermarket chain Tesco planned to label goods which had been airfreighted. Nearly all (99.75 percent) of New Zealand primary produce goes to Britain by sea, so Tesco’s new labelling will appear on very few New Zealand products.

“A Lincoln University study found that Britain uses twice as much energy per litre of milk produced than New Zealand, even including the energy associated with transport. And energy used in producing lamb in Britain is four times higher than the energy used by New Zealand lamb producers. “New Zealand farming is less energy hungry because our animals eat grass. By comparison in Britain animals are kept in sheds and food is brought to them. Harvesting and transporting this food use agricultural machinery, which uses energy.

“British farmers can afford to spend more money on energy because they receive huge subsidies from European taxpayers. Nearly half the European Union’s budget goes on paying subsidies to European farmers, discouraging them from adopting efficient farming practices.

“Tesco is working on developing labelling which gives the carbon footprint of food. That is some years off but New Zealand farmers are confident that their product’s ‘footprint’ – assuming it is calculated accurately – will rank among the world’s best. “As a result, I endorse Trade Minister’s Phil Goff’s comments that New Zealand exporters have little to fear from Tesco’s ‘food miles’ labelling,” Mr Pedersen said.

“New Zealand farmers welcome international comparisons – so long as they are robust and include measures of economic, social, and environmental effects.”

Source: scoop.co.nz