Support your country and help the environment

I guess one of modern life's luxuries that we've all become used to is that we can have any type of food from any part of the world regardless of the season. Go into any supermarket at any time of the year and you will see a wonderful range of fruit and veg from all corners of the globe.

Most of you will have probably heard of the term 'food miles'. While its great having fresh foods from all over the world available to us, the problem is how they get from the farm to your dinner table. Aircraft are being used more and more to fly food in, this is great as the food arrives faster and therefore fresher. As ever, there is a catch - flying is expensive in terms of the amount of carbon released.

So here's the dilemma, we want the food but we don't want the impact on the environment. So what can we do?

I believe that we can all reduce our impact on the environment, still have good food (maybe even better) and as an added bonus support your country and local economy. It's easy to do and simple enough that even I can do it. You can start doing it as soon as your next visit to the shops!

So here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Check the labels and look for food that is local or produced in your country
• You don't have to buy everything from local producers, don't feel guilty is some of your food comes from abroad. The key thing is that you start to reduce your food miles, even if it's only a little it all helps.
• Farmers markets - they are becoming more popular these days. Sometimes a bit more expensive (in terms of cash), but you get what you pay for and in my experience the increased quality makes up for it.

So there's a few ideas to get you started. How many of you are reading this thinking that you've got a better idea? You probably have! Share your knowledge and post a comment!