Do you know that the food you eat also has a carbon footprint? This might sound surprising to you, but it’s true. The whole journey of the food being grown from a seed to your dining table entails a lot of carbon emissions that do have a negative impact on the earth. The unfortunate part is people are not even aware of this fact. They do not know that even the food you eat has a carbon footprint that is adversely affecting the planet.
You have the ability to reduce this carbon footprint now with the food choices you make. You can start by eating local and seasonal food. In fact, research says that eating locally helps you to reduce the carbon footprint on the planet by approximately 10% with food miles. Now the question that obviously comes to your mind is how?
Food miles – What does this mean?
When it comes to the question of how to reduce my carbon footprint, you first must understand the meaning of food miles. It refers to the distance taken by the food to travel from its source to your table. This causes a lot of carbon footprint on the planet. Going local means, you can reduce these food miles or distance and reduce the carbon footprint by at least 7% on average.
What about the local food that is out of season?
When you consume local food out of season, it carries a higher carbon footprint level. This is because-
- When this food is stored in the warehouse, it consumes electricity emitting more carbon dioxide over transport.
- If you grow food in a nation that is not native to it, you need to acquire a hothouse. This also will consume power and result in a carbon footprint.
- If you grow the food from a warm region in a colder climate than the region, you need fertilizers that again emit carbon dioxide gases.
So, from the above, it is evident that most of the carbon emissions, almost over 80%, are generated from food production. This is primarily due to storing the food and growing the crops.
Read more: Industries Where CNC Machining is UsedAvoiding processed food is another way via which you can avoid carbon footprint. You can eat more raw vegetables as it will have a lesser carbon footprint since it does not come from manufacturing units used to process the food. In fact, eating raw food is good for you and good for the environment.
So, when it comes to the question of how to reduce my carbon footprint– you should embrace organic food that uses environmentally friendly processes to grow them. Organic food companies keep the health of the earth in mind and always deploy sustainable practices that consider ecological, social, and economic factors. For instance, you can get your food from the farmer’s market and save on carbon footprint to protect the planer with success!
