Food for thought...
There's no escaping the fact that we need to eat every day in order to maintain our health and wellbeing, unfortunately for the Earth though, human need to plant, grow, harvest and transport our food produces green house gas emissions from seed to table.
It begins when fertilisers are added to the the farm land crops will grow on, then continues with processing and then refrigerating the food whilst it's transported, first to be packaged and then on to supermarkets and stores to be sold. The supermarkets themselves then produce further emissions in refrigeration and storing the food, before we travel to the store to buy it, creating even more. Finally, once we have our well travelled food back home, cooking it releases more emissions into the atmosphere!
So what can we do? Obviously we can't stop eating or have all our food raw just to cut down on emissions but there are some simple things we can do to cut them down considerably!
- We've all been guilty of over buying food or finding things that have gone past their use buy date at the back of the fridge that we'd forgotten about, but all this means we waste and throw away around one third of all the food we buy. That's the same as buying three shopping bags full of food and throwing one away! Not only are we being swayed by supermarket offers to buy food we don't need, we wasting our own money, and also creating extra emissions in the process.
- As consumers, we are increasingly demanding more of the types of foods that need air freighting in, for example, we have become so used to being able to have fruits like strawberries in December, few of us will stop to think how they actually arrived on the supermarket shelves. See the Eat Seasonably link below and get to know what's in season to enjoy what nature has to offer!
- As our lives become busier and we seem to have less and less free time, it's no surprise that we are opting to buy more pre-prepared food such as ready diced carrots, pre sliced mushrooms or ready sliced beans. As convenient as they are for us, they also require extra processing, transporting and packaging all of which will create extra emissions - and will probably be more expensive than if you bought them whole and prepared them at home!
Emission Impossible?
Here in the UK we now import 95 per cent of our fruit and 50 per cent of our vegetables. Food transport now accounts for 25 per cent of all HGV kilometres in the UK and consumers travel an average of 136 miles each by car to shop for food.
All of these emissions are adding to climate change, the effects of which may mean that food becomes harder to produce in the future. Lack of water, changing weather conditions, declining bee populations and increasing transport costs could all have an impact on the foods available to us. Therefore, it's important to make the right food choices now. Here are some suggestions that may help.
Eat more seasonal produce preferably grown in the UK - if you're not sure what's in season then visit Eat Seasonably to find out when fruit and vegetables are at their best and what's in season each month. An extra incentive is that seasonal food is usually cheaper too as it's so abundant.
Eat what you buy and don't waste any. Find out how to reduce waste with delicious recipes designed to use up ingredients and leftovers on the Love Food Hate Waste website! As well as lots of recipes there is a meal planner to help you make sure you don't over shop plus storage tips to help food last longer. You needn't waste any leftover peelings or egg shells you have either, they can be composted.
Buy local produce and buy British wherever possible. Shop locally in your town centre and visit food fairs and farmers' markets. All of which can help to cut down on food miles, which is how far food has travelled to reach your plate, the lower the food miles the fresher and more nutritious a food will usually be. Plus you'll be surprised at the variety and quality of local food and drink that is available.
There are over 2000 varieties of apple grown in the UK and more than 350 varieties of potatoes - how many do you find on the shelves of the big supermarkets?
Grow your own. You can grow a huge variety of fruit and vegetables in pots on the patio, in the garden or even on window sills. If you fancy a bigger slice of the 'good life' then put your name down for an allotment or join landshare to find local land that's available.
Growing your own is not only a way to get your five a day and some exercise but also has very low emissions as it doesn't have to travel far from the ground to your plate. You also have the added satisfaction of knowing you've grown it yourself! It's also a great activity for children to get involved in, as watching their fruit and vegetables grow and picking them themselves is more likely to encourage them to eat a wider variety of foods. Go on, give it a go!
Although we can grow the vast majority of fruit and vegetables we need right here in the UK we can't unfortunately grow some of our favourites such as bananas and coffee, so if it does have to be imported, consider choosing Fair-Trade brands which ensure a fair deal for workers in developing countries.
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