Why? Because the footprint’s got a few surprises…
ANNOYING FACT
The worst tomatoes, emission-wise are organic cherry tomatoes grown on the vine… a whopping 10x that of the classic loose ones.
Tomatoes…our go-to for a salad; the best addition in a sandwich; laid upon a lasagne for colour. But how much do we really know? Where, how and who produced it? What CO2 emissions did it create along the way?
Well, get this…at their worst tomatoes are one of the highest carbon fruits on the planet*! Let’s keep it European for now and ask this question… which is worse: buying tomatoes transported from Spain, or ones grown in the UK? Not as straightforward as we might think!
Turns out there are two main things that need to be considered beyond transportation - water and heated greenhouses. There’s a lot of intricacy to this, so without turning it into a thesis (which it could quite easily become), let’s have a look at the 80:20 upshot..
*‘How Bad Are Bananas’ by Mike Berners-Lee
The guide to low carbon tomatoes…
Grow your own: Zero emissions, maximum chuffed-ness, maximum flavour.
Cherish: Don’t waste. Tomatoes are one of the most heavily wasted foods in the UK.
Buy consciously: It all depends on when you’re buying them.
In season: UK tomatoes are good. By and large the greenhouses don’t need to be heated during the summer months from May to September, and transport is not as far. Whilst it doesn’t lead to a seismic difference, UK grown is best.
Out of season: UK tomatoes are bad. Fuel to heat the greenhouses to enable growth out of season causes high emissions. So if we must eat tomatoes out of season (must we??), we’d be better off going for Spanish. They’d need less heat and use water more efficiently because of the sheer scale of production.
Or buy canned.
4. Outsource: You can make it super easy for yourself and order a veg box from a producer like Riverford Organic (or a more local equivalent so that transportation is lower) who bring you the most sustainable options as default.
5. A couple of twists to the tale:
Variety can significantly tip the balance. The classic loose tomatoes that none of us really want, are the best ones to get, as they have a high yield per hectare and therefore significantly lower emission per kg. Cherry, plum, beef versions go markedly the other way, as they have much lower yields. Rats.
Organic When heat has to be used, organic is bizarrely the highest carbon option - again because of yield. Of course there’s many other reasons for us to choose organic, but for the sake of accuracy.
6. And some exciting new tech…UK backers are investing in the world’s first low-carbon greenhouses. Capable of producing 10% of UK tomatoes, they’ll be grown hydroponically with the heat coming from water treatment facilities. Watch this space. Hopefully they’ll label them for us, so it’ll be easy to find them.
Our thanks to Sophia Lingham, for her research and contribution on this action. Sophia’s currently doing a PhD in food security post Brexit and is our resident expert on the food sustainability.
Anything to add ? Please comment below.
We…
Aimee: Having ventured into growing tomatoes this summer, I’ve got a whole new appreciation for how long they take to grow and the conditions which are optimal. I promise to never waste a tomato again!
Sonia: Who knew. But so good to know. I’m going to attempt to skip fresh tomatoes till they’re in season, just to give it a go. Cherry tomatoes are a bit of wrench I must admit!
“Tomato, tomatoe, do you have an e on the end of you or don’t you?”
Photo: Dan Wayman