🍎 The CO₂ footprint of your apple: What is more sustainable – locally grown produce or imports?

Local produce is always better for the climate, right? But when it comes to apples, the most popular fruit in Germany, the answer to this question is surprisingly complicated and depends primarily on the month you buy them!

We delve into the carbon footprint of the apple and clarify the major misunderstanding between storage and transport.

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The Big Calculation: Transport vs. Cold Storage

Apple cultivation in Germany begins in late summer (around August/September). Apples that are harvested fresh from the tree and sold directly at this time have an excellent climate footprint (CO₂ emissions are comparatively low, as the apple tree itself binds CO₂).

However, the situation changes from around February/March. To ensure we can still buy local apples in the spring, they must be stored for months in special CA ("Controlled Atmosphere") cold storage facilities .

• What happens in controlled atmosphere (CA) storage? The apples are cooled to just above 0°C, and the oxygen content is drastically reduced. This puts the fruit into a kind of hibernation, preventing it from ripening further and allowing it to remain crisp for a long time.

• The catch: This cooling requires an enormous amount of energy , which increases the CO₂ footprint of the locally grown apple with each month of storage.

🚢 When will the environmental balance tip?

This is where imports come into play, mostly from countries in the southern hemisphere such as New Zealand or South Africa, where it is harvest season exactly when it is winter here.

The key finding of environmental researchers is:

From late spring (approximately June until the new harvest in September), imported apples can be more climate-friendly than locally grown apples that have been stored for months.

Although the long transport route by container ship is energy-intensive, the energy consumption for the months-long, artificial cooling of the German apple can exceed the emissions of overseas transport.

Caution: Recent studies emphasize that, thanks to more modern, energy-efficient cold storage facilities, locally grown apples are often the better choice for a longer period of the year – but the seasonal limit remains the critical point.

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What does that mean for your shopping?

The rule of thumb "regional is always best" needs to be supplemented by the factor of seasonality :

Period	The best choice for the climate footprint
August to January/February	Freshly harvested local apples (from the region)
March to May	Weighing the pros and cons – Here, the CO₂ emissions of stored domestic apples and those of imports are often very close.
June to August	Seasonal apples from overseas (provided they are transported by ship). If you want to be absolutely sure: opt for seasonal berries or local vegetables.

Conclusion for the environmentally conscious consumer:

1. Seasonality beats regionality (in spring): If you want to eat an apple in the middle of summer that has been stored in a cold storage facility for 9 months, a fresh imported apple that has come by ship is often the more sustainable option.

2. Always organic: Regardless of origin and storage, organic farming is almost always better, as it avoids chemical pesticides and mineral fertilizers and protects the terrestrial ecosystems.

3. Buy locally: Even the most climate-friendly apple has a poor environmental footprint if you pick it up by car. Walk or cycle for your shopping!