Fair trade cargo is on way via sail power

LUGGER WILL BRING PRODUCE FROM PORTUGAL AND BEYOND

-  CLARE AINSWORTH

A CARGO of organic and fair trade produce is to arrive in Plymouth in two sail boats in a bid to cut down on the carbon emissions usually involved with food imports.

The three-masted lugger ‘Grayhound’ and the Tamar barge ‘Lynher’ will bring the fair trade products to the Barbican, landing at Sutton Harbour on June 22.

The initiative is part of the Sail Trade South West project, supported by the National Heritage Lottery Fund. The project aims to educate coastal communities about the high levels of carbon emissions related to food logistics and distribution in the UK.

Around 90% of items in the average UK household have been shipped from overseas on massive container ships. These gargantuans of the sea contribute a whopping 3% of global greenhouse emissions. If the contemporary shipping industry was a country, it would rank sixth among the highest contributors of greenhouse emissions, nearly three times the amount of the UK (which comes in at 17th place), according to the project.