Potty-mouthed chef Gordon Ramsay found himself in a large pot of boiling water last week when he launched an attack on restuarants that serve foods out of season.
Ramsay criticized establishments for serving unseasonal fare such as "asparagus in December or Kenyan strawberries in March." But eagle-eyed foodie bloggers soon did their own research into the food on offer at the chef's own restaurants and quickly unearthed such shockers as winter squash served in May and tropical fruit-based desserts served all year round. The 'grilling' comes as the Soil Association praised Ramsay for his comments, stressing the need for more local produce.
The whole local food issue gets complicated when you start looking at it in terms of carbon emissions. Kenyan snow peas, for instance, have less impact than those grown in the UK. Surprised? When you factor in the different farming practices and the fact that African farmers work mainly by hand it actually comes out in their favour - Carbon-wise anyhow.
So while eating local is generally great, there are some cases where the net impact of imported food products is better. So it can be hard to generalise and say only local food is good for the environment.