Current Issues in Hospitality: Food Miles, Sustainability, and Storage

Running Head: CURRENT ISSUES IN HOSPITALITY 1
CURRENT ISSUE IN HOSPITALITY

Running Head: CURRENT ISSUES IN HOSPITALITY 2
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Definition of food miles.............................................................................................................3
Limitations of food miles for measuring the effects of food production, supply and
consumption...............................................................................................................................4
The alternatives to assess the appropriate effects of food..........................................................4
Selection of the strategy to resolve issues regarding the unavailability of food storage:..........5
Conclusions:...............................................................................................................................7
Reflection:..................................................................................................................................9
References................................................................................................................................11

Running Head: CURRENT ISSUES IN HOSPITALITY 3
Introduction
The focus of the report is analysing the issue related to food miles, food security and food
sustainability in the hotel and restaurants of the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) region.
Natural conditions of the GCC region have made the food production process a constant
challenge. Hence, in the present study, first, the concept of food miles is evaluated followed
by the confines of food miles in terms of assessing the impact of food. The review also
discusses the alternative method of examining the effects of diet. After identifying the
specific issues faced by the hospitality sector of the region, short-term and long-term actions
plans are developed for resolving the problems. As the GCC region is experiencing the
dilemma of decreasing food miles versus reducing food waste, the GM involves choosing the
most appropriate option considering the environmental, socio-cultural and economic
sustainability factors. Lastly, a self-reflection on the activities regarding the entire research,
analysis and recommendations is developed.
Definition of food miles
Food miles refer to the expanse food travels from the manufacturing place usually the
farmhouse to the customers. Over the past 50 years, the patterns of production, delivery and
consumption of food are changed significantly that resulted in the origination of food miles in
the UK. Food miles is a factor applied while measuring the environmental effect of food
containing the impact on global warming. Food miles concept initiated in 1990, was
considered by Tim Lang at the SAFE (Sustainable Agriculture Food and Environment
Alliance). It was first published in a report named ‘The Food Miles Report: The dangers of
long-distance food transport’. Some academics trust that arise in the area of food travels is
because of trade globalisation. The purpose of the food supply is based on radical changes in
delivery style, some larger districts, rise in packaged and processed foods and making some

Running Head: CURRENT ISSUES IN HOSPITALITY 4
voyages to the market. These processes generate a little part of the GHG emission, and 83%
of the entire CO2 emission occurs in the production phase (Pratt, Mackenzie & Sutton, 2017).
Limitations of food miles for measuring the effects of food production, supply and
consumption
The higher the distance food has to travel, the higher the environmental impact because of
GHG mission linked to transportation. Food is imported in the GCC countries from several
nations. However, precise and accurate data on food miles are not available. In 2010,
emirates of Dubai imported food was calculated by multiplying the amount of food imported
from a specific country with the average distance between the UAE and that country. Thus,
the obtained values provide an idea on the mass of imported food from overseas and the
impact of these imports on the environment. Therefore, the lack of detailed data on the
product amount imported from faraway countries is the most significant limitation of
assessing the impact of food (Moskwa, Higgins-Desbiolles & Gifford, 2015).The Australia
economy would agonise if governments and consumers across the world reinforced the
campaign ‘food miles’. GCC regions have been importing foods from India, Sudan, Brazil,
Ukraine and many other countries. Data regarding imports in Dubai from foreign countries is
available. However, similar data on food miles for other countries is no available that limits
the calculation regarding the amount of GHG gases emit due to the transportation, production
and consumption of food (Cleveland, Carruth & Mazaroli, 2015). Further, although, food
miles can help in calculating the emission caused by transport, it cannot facilitate the impact
of food production, and consumption on the environment and food security due to lack of
detailed information on how much foods are imported from which countries (Pirani, &
Arafat, 2016).
The alternatives to assess the appropriate effects of food