2.3 Individual actions: food production and food waste
A third of the food we buy in the UK is thrown away and nearly 20 per cent of our total CO2 equivalent comes from producing, transporting, preparing and storing food and drink. So, a lot of waste means a lot of unnecessary emissions plus, of course, wasted money. If we stopped wasting food, it would have the same impact on carbon emissions as our current amount of recycling.
Food miles are also an important contributor to the carbon footprint of our food. Perishable food is increasingly transported by air, and even food grown in the UK may travel from the farm to a processor, to a wholesaler, then to a central distributor before returning to the local supermarket. The Women's Environmental Network (WEN) estimates that 25 per cent of the UK's CO2 emissions come from transporting food. Imports account for 95 per cent of fruit and 50 per cent of all vegetables. The average distance we drive to shop for food is also increasing each year. One study found that a local apple from a village shop travelled 38 miles before being eaten; a British apple from a supermarket travelled 223 miles; and a New Zealand apple in a British supermarket travelled 11,326 miles. Processed food requires around fifteen times more energy to produce than raw, unprocessed food and contributes more to food miles as each ingredient is transported separately for processing and preparation. A ‘ready meal’ will have travelled many more miles than an identical meal prepared at home. The production of non-organic food also requires more energy because of the use of artificial fertilisers and pesticides.
Despite these problems, there are many individual actions we can take as consumers to reduce the carbon footprint of what we eat and drink.
To reduce the carbon footprint of what you eat and drink:
Buy locally grown and processed produce whenever you can, from a shop that is as near as possible to your home, a farmers' market or a country market. Wherever possible, walk, cycle or use public transport to go shopping.
Eat more fresh food and prepare meals from raw ingredients. If unnecessary packaging frustrates you, try leaving it at the check-out! Avoid convenience foods and highly processed and packaged meals.
Join a vegetable (or fruit) box scheme. This is a box containing freshly picked, organic, usually locally grown produce delivered weekly to your door or to a local drop-off point. A box scheme directory is available on the Soil Association website.
Grow some of your own organic food. If you have only a small garden (or none at all) try growing herbs and salads, perhaps in a window box.
Join a Local Exchange Trading Scheme (LETS). These allow the exchange of goods and services locally without the use of money. LETS help rebuild the local economy, put people in control of local resources and encourage community-based businesses. For a list of local area groups see LETSlink UK.
Buy organic produce, locally if possible. Organic farming greatly restricts the use of artificial chemical fertilisers and pesticides.
Eat less meat. Rising meat consumption is putting huge pressure on the planet's land and water resources. Animals need much more water than grain to produce the same amount of food, and land cleared for pasture or to grow crops to feed animals leads to deforestation. In Brazil around 12 million acres of forest have been cut down to grow soya for European animal feed. Methane from cattle is also contributing to climate change.
Avoid bottled water – it's carbon intensive to transport, uses huge numbers of plastic containers, and there's nothing wrong with tap water in the UK.
You can take these ideas further and get involved in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) scheme. The principle is that the customer pays in advance for a share of farm produce. A farmer draws up plans for the year and customers sign up to purchase a share of the yield. It brings the customer one step nearer the grower than even farmers' markets and ensures that farmers know at the beginning of the planting season that they have a guaranteed market. This system originated in Japan and is well established in the USA; it is still very new in the UK but is beginning to grow.
You can find out more about food through the following web-based resources:
Women's Environmental Network
The food we waste
Activity 3
Visit the Love Food, Hate Waste website.
Could you implement at least one of the tips for food waste reduction mentioned there?
Could you add one of your own?
Visit the Big Barn website and find local food producers in your area. Can you pledge to start using one of them if you don't already?
2.2 Individual actions: waste