Tesco to put carbon scores on goods
(Daily Telegraph)--Tesco will start printing "carbon scores" on some of its goods this week, as part of a Government-funded project to force retailers and manufacturers to reduce the environmental damage from carbon dioxide emissions.
However, the scheme has come under fire from rival retailers, consumer groups and academics, who say shoppers - already bombarded by complex information on packaging - will be further confused.
The labels - which will be put on 30 products, including tomatoes, potatoes, orange juice, light bulbs and washing detergent - will detail how many grams of CO2 were created in their production, packaging, distribution and disposal.
The Government hopes other retailers will follow Tesco and start to "eco-label" their food.
It is also hoped the move will help to educate shoppers that some air-freighted food is, in fact, better for the environment than locally grown produce.
For instance, some studies have shown that New Zealand lamb creates lower emissions than British meat because farmers there use less fertiliser.
End.
Mind you this is the same Daily Bellylaugh that last week reported: "A consignment of wheat contaminated with material thought to have been the cause of BSE has been sold to animal feed merchants throughout England in what is believed to be a Government blunder."
Daily Bellylaugh
However, the scheme has come under fire from rival retailers, consumer groups and academics, who say shoppers - already bombarded by complex information on packaging - will be further confused.
The labels - which will be put on 30 products, including tomatoes, potatoes, orange juice, light bulbs and washing detergent - will detail how many grams of CO2 were created in their production, packaging, distribution and disposal.
The Government hopes other retailers will follow Tesco and start to "eco-label" their food.
It is also hoped the move will help to educate shoppers that some air-freighted food is, in fact, better for the environment than locally grown produce.
For instance, some studies have shown that New Zealand lamb creates lower emissions than British meat because farmers there use less fertiliser.
End.
Mind you this is the same Daily Bellylaugh that last week reported: "A consignment of wheat contaminated with material thought to have been the cause of BSE has been sold to animal feed merchants throughout England in what is believed to be a Government blunder."
Daily Bellylaugh
