Food and the Environment

ADRIAN GONZÁLEZ

‘’Eating is an agricultural act therefore it is also an ecological act.’’

•What we eat and how we eat has more impact on the environment than almost anything else.

• Production• Processing• Distribution• Consumption• Waste

Food Production (agriculture)• What we eat has more impact on climate change than any other aspect in daily life.

•The environmental impacts of meat and meat products (live stock production) account for 18 percent of total green house gas emissions.

•By 2050 global food production is expected to double. With meat consumption continuing to rise sharply in developing countries.

Agriculture and Water•Agriculture accounts for 86 percent of global fresh water

consumption.

•In the US,70% of grains grown goes to feeding livestock.

•It is estimated that a person might eat an average of 5000 lts. of

‘’virtual water’’ per day. (Transpiration and Evaporation)

Source:NRDC.org,2010

What you can do:

Eat lower on the food chain by adding more fruits and vegetables and grains to your diet.

Look for fresh foods with the fewest process steps from farm to plate.

FOOD PROCESSING Key environmental issues from food processing: Inputs:

ØWater ØEnergy

Outputs:ØWastewaterØSolid WasteØAtmospheric Pollution

Food Transportation (Distribution)•In the United States, Food distribution primarily relied on small, local farms in the 1940’s, but quickly grew to become large businesses in the 1960’s. Chain stores, supermarkets etc.

•Food miles. How far does your food travel to get to your plate?

‘’It is estimated that food served in the United States may travel close to 1,500 miles between growers and consumers.’’

• Despite travelling a greater distance Spanish tomatoes imported to Sweden have a far smaller footprint than locally grown ones. This is because the emissions generated to heat and light greenhouses in northern Europe far exceed the transport emissions of bringing tomatoes in from Spain.

‘’Seasonal not Local’’

Food waste•One-third of all the food we produce goes to waste or is lost because of inappropriate practices.

• 54% of food waste occurs during production, post-harvesting and storage.

•46% Occurs at processing, distribution and consumption.•The later a food product is lost along the chain, the greater the environmental consequences, since the environmental costs incurred during processing, transport, storage and cooking must be added to the initial production costs.

(FAO,2013)

WorldResourceInstitute,2014

RECOMMENDATIONS

Organic foods

Do not consume processed foods

Eat less meat

Eat seasonal

Recycle

Buy only what you need

Life cycle assessment (LCA)

References

Food waste harms climate, water, land and biodiversity – new FAO report

http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/196220/icode/

Colin Sage,2012. Environment and Food

Murphy,McDonnell&Fagan(n.d) Sustainability and Environmental Issues in Food Processing.

http://nfscfaculty.tamu.edu/talcott/courses/FSTC311/Textbook/9-Chapter%209%20Sustainability%20and%20Environment.pdf

The tricky truth about Food Miles.

http://shrinkthatfootprint.com/food-miles

NRDC.org, 2010, Eat Green

Facts on animal Farming and the Environment

http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/facts-on-animal-farming-and-the-environment/