In terms of carbon emissions, they are much of a muchness, according to Tom MacMillan, at the Food Ethics Council. “The difference between buying an air-freighted apple from New Zealand and a shipped one from Europe will be so trivial, it's hardly worth worrying about,” he says. “The environmentally friendly thing to do is to wait another month, enjoying the soft fruits of summer, then eat British apples when they are in season,” says MacMillan.

And there's not long to go now. Varieties such as Katy, you can enjoy as early as the second half of August, though they're a little sharper than those that mellow on the tree for longer. But the interval when you can't buy British apples is surprisingly short. By the end of October, all varieties will have been picked, but then they go into storage. You'll see them on shop shelves for several months, until late April, sometimes early May.

The question, then, that I'm sure all eco-aware individuals are already asking, is whether their environmental footprint, given the refrigeration techniques used to store them, still makes them a greener choice than those that have been shipped or flown from abroad.

“Storage devours energy,” says MacMillan. “Because of this, it's not ideal to eat British apples in May. I usually stop around Christmas. But then it depends what fruit you might otherwise be eating.” In other words, there's no point forgoing a British Braeburn because it has spent a couple of months in an energy-hungry fridge, only to plump for a punnet of imported, out-of-season raspberries.

How Green Are My Wellies? (Eden Project Books, £14.99) by Anna Shepard, is out now.

GREENIE POINTS

DO IT If you're in London over the weekend, stop by at the Innocent Village Fete in Regent's Park for a host of obscure activities, from ferret racing to welly-wanging (hurling a welly as far as possible). Modelled on a traditional summer fete, expect home-made cakes and knitting tents rather than the usual burger vans and sweaty crowds associated with summer festivals (www.innocentvillagefete.com .

CLICK IT Whether or not direct action is your cup of tea, stay informed about this year's Climate Camp, August 3-11, on www.climatecamp.org.uk. Activists and environmental campaigners of varying shades of green will be gathering outside Kingsnorth in Kent, where a coal-fired power station is planned to replace the existing one. As well as talks about permaculture and the Bangladeshi labour movement, there will be a day of mass action next Saturday to keep the dark greens happy.

SKIP IT First it was toothbrushes, then salt and pepper mills, now you can even buy a battery-operated suitcase. The list of consumer items contributing to our waste battery mountain keeps growing. The PA Case has motors fitted to each wheel that switch on when its handle is tugged. It may take the hassle out of a long day travelling, but you'll need new batteries every 1 miles; an added cost to an eye-wateringly expensive suitcase (http://en.liveluggage.com; £700).

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