Food accounts for a substantial proportion of our greenhouse gas emissions. Eating less meat and more vegetables/plant-based proteins can substantially lessen our climate impact.
Avoidable household food waste accounts for between 9-15% of food-related emissions, so meal planning and choosing foods with lower carbon footprints such as fruits, vegetables and cereals are key in order to cut emissions even further.
The Carbon Footprint of Your Dinner
Food production creates an astonishing amount of greenhouse gas emissions; just one hamburger produces as much carbon emissions as driving nine miles with a Honda Civic sedan, while breakfast of bacon, eggs and toast produces approximately one-half as many emissions. Yet it isn’t just meat and dairy that are responsible for high emissions; plant-based foods often leave behind smaller footprints than people might imagine.
Food production generates roughly 17 metric gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions each year, though emissions levels vary widely by nation; China, Brazil, the US and Indonesia account for over half of total emissions emitted worldwide due to land use and agriculture practices; animal products produce far higher emissions than plants.
Food emissions occur at every stage of production: from cultivation, processing and transport to the manufacture of chemicals and packaging; when food waste is discarded it emits methane and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as it decomposes.
Researchers have created an effective methodology for calculating the carbon footprint of individual meals through life cycle assessments, or LCA. LCA looks at all ways that food you eat produces greenhouse gases; its results allow researchers to identify “hotspots” for potential improvement opportunities and identify areas needing further investigation.
One of the more widely advised approaches to sustainable eating is selecting locally produced food; however, this does not always reduce its carbon footprint, since transport accounts for only a minor share of emissions.
Crippa and his team calculated global emissions from food in four broad categories: land (agriculture and related activities), energy, industry and waste. In the US alone, meat-heavy diets account for nearly all its food-related emissions.
Eating a diet rich in plant-based food is one way to lower your carbon footprint when it comes to food consumption. Shopping locally can reduce transportation-related carbon emissions. You could also grow your own vegetables and fruit for this purpose; an urban garden or patio/balcony might work just as well!
Meat
Meat consumption contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions; animal products account for more than half of food-related greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, according to research by Oxford. But switching over from beef consumption to chicken, fish or plant-based alternatives will significantly lower your carbon footprint – just substituting one day per week with chicken, beans or other plant-based options reduces GHG emissions much more effectively than purchasing all food locally.
Similar to how choosing chocolate made from Ecuadoran cacao instead of Peru can reduce your carbon footprint, cutting back on meat consumption is also vital to protecting the environment; yet many struggle to do so, due to both environmental costs associated with production as well as personal choices affecting their food preferences.
Considerations outside of cost can range from emotional and impulsive reactions, social norms and financial realities – such as whether or not meat and dairy are cheaper than plants – which might make meat seem like the only logical choice – however this is false: replacing even one day a week with chicken, fish or plant-based alternatives could save an average household more than enough GHG emissions to offset for one month!
Meat production also has two other major detrimental impacts. First, it consumes large quantities of freshwater resources – which has become scarce across much of the planet; secondly, meat processing involves disturbing levels of violence which have contributed to human rights violations, environmental degradation, and even wars.
One kilogram of beef production requires roughly the equivalent amount of energy as driving 10,000 kilometers each year and exceeds all emissions from passenger cars worldwide combined. By switching to a diet free from meat products, an individual could reduce their own greenhouse gas emissions by 25% or more.
Refusing to consume less meat often justifies their actions with religious and health justifications, or the notion that animals were meant for consumption. But education must play an integral part in changing these thinking patterns.
Vegetables
Vegetables have much lower carbon footprints than meat, not to mention being far healthier options. But switching over isn’t enough – other factors must also be taken into account, including how your vegetables are grown, transported and preserved for sale; and their packaging, refrigeration and preservation processes which may have greater or lesser environmental impacts depending on what kind of vegetable is chosen and its preparation methods.
Producing vegetables emits less than half the greenhouse gasses produced by producing red meat, yet transporting these vegetables generates over twice that amount in emissions. Furthermore, fertilizers used to grow them may pollute waterways or deplete groundwater sources.
Nature Food recently published a comprehensive study assessing the full lifecycle of vegetables sold in the UK, both local and imported, from their origin to sale. They discovered that transport emissions – once thought to be minimal components of the food system’s emissions – are actually more prevalent than expected, particularly for air freighted imports.
The easiest way to reduce the carbon footprint of vegetables is to opt for locally produced, in-season produce that’s also organic. Furthermore, buying loose vegetables rather than pre-packed options will even further decrease their carbon footprint.
Though carbon footprint isn’t the sole indicator of food sustainability, it remains one of the best-known and understood measures. Eutrophication and acidification measures, though relevant indicators of sustainability, remain less familiar amongst members of the general public.
Diets that primarily feature plant-based foods can significantly decrease your environmental impact. To go one step further, opt for organically produced vegetables and purchase them loose in plastic-free packaging. Reducing food waste is also key – roughly 1 billion tons are lost every year worldwide due to landfilling of edible goods, contributing more than 8 percent of greenhouse gases worldwide. Focus on eating a balanced diet and cutting back on meat consumption along with feed for animals (milk or leather products) for example.
Fruits
Fruits tend to have lower carbon footprints than vegetables and meat products, though their transportation emissions tend to be greater due to longer distances covered when shipped from overseas. Opting for fruit grown and stored locally as well as purchasing organic can help minimize overall impact.
Foods produced and harvested within their region or country usually have the lowest carbon footprint. This is because no refrigeration, transportation or energy use is needed during cultivation or preservation processes.
Eating a variety of foods can have a positive effect on the environment, but it is crucial that we make sustainable choices, such as cutting back on meat consumption, eating seasonal produce more often and limiting food waste. Furthermore, it would be wise to avoid packaged goods like plastic or cardboard containers when purchasing food products.
An integral component of a sustainable diet is to consume less chemicals that pollute soil and water sources, like pesticides and fertilizers used in food production, that pollute soil and water sources and harm beneficial insects, damage ecosystems and contribute to biodiversity loss. That is why Responsible Choices toolkit includes recommendations to limit exposure to harmful chemicals.
Eating seasonal and local farm-sourced food can also help lower your impact, as this not only lowers carbon emissions but is healthier and may lower disease risks.
EIT Climate-KIC has provided support for Friendly Fruit, an ambitious project offering innovative solutions for more sustainable fruit production in Europe. The work seeks to establish guidelines which will further boost sustainability throughout the fruit industry.
The projects focus on three primary areas of intervention: improving water efficiency, increasing nutritional value and adapting to climate change. Combining these approaches will reduce environmental impacts from growing and processing fruits, nuts and seeds while simultaneously increasing yields. Furthermore, food retailers will be recruited as partners so as to expand and widen industry impact.
