Why Brisbane should support Queensland growers 

The Brisbane City Council (BCC) recently launched a media campaign which encourages Brisbane residents to grow their own fruit and vegetables.

The basis for the campaign is a claim that "the food for an average family BBQ is travelling approximately 200,000 kilometres from source to table".

The BCC website goes on to state that “food miles can be a significant contributor to the carbon footprint of your food”. Apart from upsetting people in the fresh produce industry, the basis of some of the BCC's claims and its current initiative appear very ill-founded.

Given Queensland's position as a significant producer of livestock, fruit, vegetables, cereal grains and seafood, one really wonders just what is being eaten at the so called "average family BBQ" that would clock up 200,000 kilometres in "food miles".

As a number of major production areas exist within several hundred kilometres of Brisbane, the vast majority of all fresh produce would be travelling less than 2,000 kilometres.

That which is used in salads at a family BBQ would be likely to account for only some 5% of the 200,000 kilometres to which the BCC is referring.

While there have been no details provided to support the claims or justify the BCC's promotional campaign, it would appear to be based on an assessment of imported and/or processed foods such as olives, cheeses, canned or dried tomatoes, meats such as salami, dressings and condiments and possibly a very small percentage of fresh produce that may be out of season in Australia.

The campaign may be well-meaning however, instead of attacking a strong local industry such as fruit and vegetable growers and retailers, it would be more appropriate if the BCC’s efforts were directed at encouraging Brisbane residents to not only buy Queensland/Australian grown foods, but to substitute processed foods with fresh foods, whenever possible.

Such an approach would yield far better outcomes in terms of reducing packaging and processing inputs which contribute substantially to the carbon footprint. Brisbane Markets Limited has asked the BCC to look at more appropriate ways of reducing greenhouse gas emissions including a promotion supporting the consumption of commercially grown fresh Queensland produce.