The Soil Association has launched its ‘air freight consultation’, aiming to find ways of reducing the impact of organic air freight.
The organisation is primarily considering five possible options. The first of these would be to take no action, whereby the charity would continue campaigning for local, seasonal and organic food but the Standards Board would not develop standards limiting or prohibiting air freight.
Two further options would be a general ban, introduced over a number of years, or a selective ban - one with exemptions - introduced over a number of years.
Labelling air freight is one of the more controversial possibilities. While this is proving popular with retailers at present, with both Tesco and Marks & Spencer labelling some produce, concerns have been raised about the level of complexity of the issue being oversimplified by labels.
The fifth option is Carbon offsetting, a system criticised for detracting from the pressing need to reduce emissions. The ability of some carbon offset schemes to actually bring about a net reduction in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has also been questioned.
On the other hand, says the Soil Association, a government-approved carbon offset scheme might be a useful tool for mitigating the environmental impact of aircraft.
This option could be more effective if complementary to measures aimed at reducing air freight, it adds.
The deadline for the association’s consultation is September 28 2007.
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