How much does eating locally-produced food help the climate problem? What are the other potential environmental and social benefits of eating locally-grown/produced food? Do you have a food garden in your school or at home? If not, do you want one?
Home Grown >
home grown is better
Having food that is grown in your own country and local area is important for the carbon footprint of the Earth. Transporting food over long distances, for example by air, can release a large amount of carbon dioxide. Shipping by sea can be very efficient, unless the journey is extremely long.
Production is also a major factor. For example, growing vegetables can be difficult in Iceland during winter, as greenhouses require a lot of heating, which means a high use of energy. Refrigeration in stores is also a significant issue, as it requires a lot of electricity to keep vegetables and dairy products cold around the clock.
The conclusion is that if people can grow their own food or obtain it from nearby sources, it is more beneficial for our carbon footprint.
Honestly, this is a shock. 16,462 kg of CO₂ , nearly 6 times the French Polynesian average and 16 times the "sustainable" threshold of 1,000 kg. I expected to be above average, but not to this extent.
What strikes is transportation: 12,954 kg, versus a regional average of 510 kg. It makes sense though living in Papeete and travelling to mainland France or elsewhere almost always means long-haul flights, and a single Paris-Tahiti round trip already carries a massive footprint. The 2,152 kg for"home" is also surprising especially that I don't even have air conditioning, it must come from electricity use.
On the other hand, I'm glad to see food and purchases below the regional average my consumption habits aren't the real issue here.
The conclusion is that as long as I keep flying at this frequency, the rest of my efforts remain insignificant, and that I must reduce my flights frequency.
I understand what you are putting forward and I totally agree. I personally, as an inhabitant of Tahiti, a small islands from French Polynesia, relate to it.
We also have difficulties to grow some vegetables and fruits, forcing us to get theses from nearby countries, and in worse cases, from farther countries.
In contrary from you, our island might be really warm sometime, forcing us to need and use refrigerator or any cooling devices.
We can’t anymore ignore the carbon emissions we are producing from transportations and productions and should find ways to try and reduce or prevent it.
Thankfully, our locals products are slowly expanding themselves more and more in the market showing a little progress.
Even thought it’s not going to replace our daily needs and habits of consuming, it is still a way to move towards progress.