We recently blogged about Gordon Ramsay’s call to crack down on the use of non-seasonal produce in British restaurants in a bid to increase sustainability within the restaurant industry. His hardcore stance on fining any restaurant refusing to comply might have sounded a little harsh, but a new report from the University of Nottingham suggests the matter is even more serious.

A regular sized fire extinguisher contains 5kg of CO2 - the same amount of gas that an average dish made from non-European ingredients produces in transit. At the other end of the spectrum, a dish containing ingredients “locally sourced by environmentally aware or ‘green’ restaurants produces just 51 grams”. It seems clear cut - if green restaurants are almost 100 times as efficient as those who import food from abroad Ramsay is right to raise the alarm.

So, sourcing locally is the clear winner in terms of green credentials - but the UK would be a sorry place if ethnically diverse cuisine was no longer available. How can we have the best of both worlds? The report suggests recycling and composting could make a difference; doing as much as possible to reduce negative effects on the environment in other areas could at least go some way towards counterbalancing the food transport issue.

Eateries like Oliver Rowe’s Konstam - namechecked in our recent post and also featured in the report) can’t be praised enough for leading the way by using local produce imaginatively, and as this issue increases in profile more will surely follow.

What do you think? Can a rich tapestry of tastes and green credentials go hand in hand? Are there places in your area that already do all this? We’d love to hear about them!

Photo credit: Delivery To Your Kitchen by Ikhlasul Amal (CC License)

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