What did you learn about dietary choices from using the footprint calculator? Now imagine that you could translate what you learned into an effective societal policy on food- what would it be? And how would this policy effect the need to alleviate world hunger?
925 million people on earth do not have enough to eat according to the FAO [Food and Agricultural Organization]. That's almost 1 in 7 inhabitants of our planet!
Food & Hunger >
How You Can Reduce Your Carbon Footprint Based On What You Eat
From farm to table, our diet accounts for up to a quarter of all human carbon emissions. Summer is a great time to take advantage of locally grown food products. Eating seasonally and locally will minimize your food's carbon footprint by up to 10%. By eating locally, you can reduce your food's carbon footprint by up to 7%. By several factors, eating local food out of season can have a greater environmental impact than importing food grown in the same season: Growing food in a non-native environment may require a hot house, which consumes energy, and growing food from warmer climates in colder climates necessitates a lot of fertilizer, which emits CO2e gasses. The carbon footprint of organic and traditional agriculture is a hot topic of discussion. According to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization, farmers can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 66 percent by converting to organic agriculture. Large agricultural corporations argue that this is not the case. Organically grown apples, for example, have higher total energy use (+15-25%), CO2 emissions (+5-15%), and land use (+30%), according to BASF. Although the terms "clean" and "sustainable" are often used interchangeably, this is not always the case. Organic goods are primarily concerned with human health, while sustainable approaches address economic, social, and environmental considerations to ensure that we will have the tools to protect the Earth in the future. It is also possible to reduce the carbon footprint by avoiding refined foods. GHG emissions from livestock production range from 14.5 percent to 18 percent of total GHG emissions. Large swaths of land are cleared to make room for the production of cow feed. With 3.3 tons of GHGs, a meat eater's diet has the largest carbon footprint. The carbon footprint of a vegetarian is approximately 1.7 tons of GHGs. However, not all plant-based foods perform well when carbon emissions are measured per calorie. Animal products, including meat and dairy, have a higher carbon footprint than sugars or grains, but also have higher nutritional value. You can lower your carbon footprint by changing how you eat in the following ways:
Eliminating waste by eating everything you buy — 25%
Going vegan — 25%
Eating in-season food — 10%
Recycling and avoiding excessive packaging — 6%
Reducing waste by buying items from the front of the shelves, reduced-price items, and misshapen fruit and vegetables — 2%
Cooking using less energy— 5%
Work Cited: https://www.terrapass.com/blog/eat-your … -footprint
My eating preferences revealed that my carbon emissions are mostly caused by the food I consume. I believe that the amount of carbon generated by the food section is mostly due to waste from what I consume/throw away. I had assumed that food did not account for a significant portion of people's carbon emissions, but my findings proved me wrong. I will continue to consume vegan-friendly meals and buy locally sourced foods to reduce my carbon footprint in this region.
Changing your diet can definitely make much more of a difference than you would think. My sister is vegetarian, and my family has been eating many more vegetarian meals because of that. While this may have been a bit irritating at first, we all adjusted very quickly. Incorporating more vegetables and less meat into your diet can have a huge effect on your carbon footprint, and it is better for the human body as well. The book, The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollen really expanded my knowledge of the food system, and the effect it can have on the environment. Pollen discussed the various food chains, explaining that the industrial food chain, the food chain that is responsible for the majority of our country's food, has many shortcomings, one such example being its greenhouse gas emissions. The industrial food chain accounts for a large portion of our country's greenhouse gas emissions, and as the industry continues to grow, so will the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere. So, if you decide to incorporate more local, organic, and/or vegetarian meals into your diet, you are not only reducing your own personal carbon footprint, but you are helping to diminish the effects of one of the largest outputs of greenhouse gases in our country.