Local isn't always best

Funny old thing, food miles. Carbon footprinting means that we now know that it is better for the environment to buy flowers flown in from Kenya than to choose a bunch from countries nearer home, like the Netherlands. Apparently, the emissions from aeroplane fuel are offset by the efficient way they are grown: basking under the African sun requires no fossil fuel, unlike Europe's heated greenhouses. The same applies to lamb shipped in from New Zealand - despite a rather epic journey to get here, these joints are believed to have much less 'embodied carbon' than their English cousins because of their good weather and farming methods. Confusing, isn't it?