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SUSTAINABLE CREDS
Considered one of the most sustainable foods in the UK, the mighty mushroom is an inherent zero waste food, resourcefully cultivated from raw materials with a unique and fascinating production process. Grown on a year-round cycle, with nothing added and in the absence of sunlight, mushrooms don’t rely on the seasons. They only need a fraction of the water required for other foods, and sustain a low energy footprint, requiring just a small amount of land to grow. Sourcing and consuming local UK and Irish mushrooms means fresher food that has travelled fewer miles.
GROWING CYCLE
The process of using raw materials runs throughout the mushroom growing cycle. From the cradle-to-gate, the environmental impacts of mushroom production are much lower than other produce sources. Using by-products of other agro-industries such as manure or straw for the beds of composted materials, the maximum value is extracted to recover and regenerate new products. Once the mushrooms have been harvested, the waste substrate is then often repurposed as potting soil.
MATERIALS AND ENERGY
Mushroom farms adopt the most energy efficient heating, cooling and lighting systems possible. Operating in highly controlled environments, energy and water are managed using the latest control systems designed to maintain optimum growing conditions and ensure efficiency throughout.
LOWER FOOD MILES
When it comes to mushrooms, our cool and damp environment means we can grow them all year round with the ability to provide every single mushroom eaten in the UK. Local mushrooms can be transported from the farms they’re grown on in under 12 hours, which is not only gentler on the planet but provides a fresher product too. Mushroom Miles is a report with the low environmental impact of mushrooms at the heart. The project was born out of the Miles Better initiative, a partnership between local farmers, sellers, and growers, to help consumers better understand the journey their food goes on from field to fork.