59 Allington Road
Wellington 6012
December 14 2006
The Minister of Agriculture
Parliament Buidings
Wellington
Dear Mr Anderton
As former trade specialists and policy advisors we are particularly concerned about recent publicity about food miles and New Zealand exports.
We understand that food miles are a measure of the energy used and carbon and other greenhouse gases emitted in the process of taking our exports to overseas destinations. We believe that there is a strong likelihood that such assessment would particularly affect New Zealand producers of primary products sold overseas as this country has one of the greatest distances to cover to bring its exports to market. This is a fact despite it having s been shown by Lincoln University that most of our primary products have fewer food miles incorporated in them than the comparable products produced in Europe.
It is therefore worrisome to New Zealand that influential people in the United Kingdom, like the Stern report and The Guardian have embraced the notion of food miles. The Lincoln report has fortunately allayed fears that New Zealand products have an unduly high environmental footprint even when food miles are taken into account. But the risk is that environmental interests could be influential in imposing sanctions on our products in the name of environmentalism.
Sanctions on New Zealand exports would have to be imposed by our dominant customers off shore. It seems to us that there would have to be concerted action possibly through multilateral agencies like the World Trade Organisation to bring this about and such multilateral action would affect other distant producers as well as New Zealand.
There is thus a broad possibility that our customers, unilaterally or multilaterally, could in time proceed to impose carbon taxes or other sanctions. If such sanctions have a transport component then New Zealand is likely to be one of the countries most affected by their imposition if they come about.
New Zealand thus has a vested interest in avoiding unilateral or multilateral imposition of taxes on carbon emissions whether in the productive process or in the transport system. On the wider front, New Zealand would have to be careful not to exacerbate matters by ill-prepared taxes and sanctions on our own export industries. We should seek other methods to contain global warming and avoid jeopardising the very export base on which our standard of living depends.
John Pryde, Robin Johnson
former Secretary of Federated Farmers, former economist at the Ministry of Agriculture
On 9 February, 2007, the Minister of Agriculture, The Hon Jim Anderton, replied as follows:
Thank you for your letter concerning recent publicity about food miles and the potential to affect New Zealand exports.
“Food Miles” is a catchy phrase but a flawed concept, and you are right to express concern about the damage that could be visited upon New Zealand if inappropriate policy responses were applied by other countries. You mention the risk of environmental interests becoming instrumental in imposing sanctions on our products in the name of environmentalism. It is my hope that the more responsible and intellectually honest of the environmental organisations will take account of the whole picture; that is, also incorporating the energy inputs involved in production; when assessing the environmental impact of food production and its distribution. To my mind an equal, if not greater, risk is presented by those interests of a trade-protectionist bent who could pick up the food miles mantra and use it to their own ends. For example some UK farming leaders appear to have shown an unhealthy attraction to the concept. New Zealand Ministers and officials will of course remain vigilant to any such moves. A Food Miles Group of officials and industry representatives has been monitoring this issue and formulating responses for some time now, and will continue to work together to develop strategies and to keep Ministers informed.
Although you mention the Stern Review,
it is significant that there was in fact no mention of food miles whatsoever in
that report. The links made by some UK commentators between the Review, food
miles and New Zealands exports are erroneous and unfortunate. No doubt you
have seen the articles in The Economist
(December 9th 2006)
entitled Voting with your trolley
that gives a rather more accurate
assessment of the place of food miles.
Even though the popular press has floated the idea, and some self-interested groups may have expressed support, I have not received any indication of any government actually proposing the implementation of taxes or other sanctions along the lines you mention. I am determined that we should work to keep it that way. The Lincoln University study that you mention is a valuable piece of intellectual ammunition that we have in our armoury.
Again, thank you for the interest and concern that you have shown on this issue.
Yours sincerely
Jim Anderton
Minister of Agriculture.