* Food - source of sustenance, pleasure and lots of unnecessary carbon!
WHAT IS THE CARBON PROBLEM WITH FOOD?
Food accounts for 25% (some sources say 1/3) of all carbon added to the atmosphere each year, distributed over food types as in the pie chart. How can we reduce this? This playlist has five videos that cover the spectrum of things you can do to reduce your food carbon footprint.
Food carbon is determined primarily by four factors, (1) how much we choose to eat, (2) what we choose to eat, (3) how much food is wasted, and (4) how we dispose of that waste. Here are change factors for each:
1.Take 1000 calories per day out of the 3750 average per day is worth 3.6 tons/year, enough to meet one year's 7% goal.
2. Reduce meat by half ( we each eat 3/4 pound of meat per day) to save another 3.6 tons or one more year of the goal. Make up the protein reduction with the many plant-based proteins available.
3. Beyond reducing animal-based foods, move down the carbon chart below toward more plant-based foods to save more carbon as well as money, land and water. Barilla's double food pyramid, shown above, gives this guidance another way.
4. Forty percent of food is wasted half of which is plant-based. Food waste has an estimated value of $1500-2000 for a family of three. The first step is to reduce that waste by careful planning, shopping, food preparation, storage and due attention to expiration dates.
5. Finally, the plant-based kitchen waste makes up 11% of the landfill stream where is decomposes quickly to produce methane, 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide. All plant-based waste can be composted to save 2.6 tons or 5% - almost another year of the goal. Plant-based waste should never go in the trash.
Thus, good moves with food are enough to meet almost three years of the reduction goal.
Food carbon is determined primarily by four factors, (1) how much we choose to eat, (2) what we choose to eat, (3) how much food is wasted, and (4) how we dispose of that waste. Here are change factors for each:
1.Take 1000 calories per day out of the 3750 average per day is worth 3.6 tons/year, enough to meet one year's 7% goal.
2. Reduce meat by half ( we each eat 3/4 pound of meat per day) to save another 3.6 tons or one more year of the goal. Make up the protein reduction with the many plant-based proteins available.
3. Beyond reducing animal-based foods, move down the carbon chart below toward more plant-based foods to save more carbon as well as money, land and water. Barilla's double food pyramid, shown above, gives this guidance another way.
4. Forty percent of food is wasted half of which is plant-based. Food waste has an estimated value of $1500-2000 for a family of three. The first step is to reduce that waste by careful planning, shopping, food preparation, storage and due attention to expiration dates.
5. Finally, the plant-based kitchen waste makes up 11% of the landfill stream where is decomposes quickly to produce methane, 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide. All plant-based waste can be composted to save 2.6 tons or 5% - almost another year of the goal. Plant-based waste should never go in the trash.
Thus, good moves with food are enough to meet almost three years of the reduction goal.