Short
Arnold
Lara MThe Contribution of Food to Global Warming
April 4th 2007 12:01
UTS (University of Technology, Sydney) and the Sydney Morning Herald conducted an interesting study on the connection between food produce and global warming. They did calculations based on the groceries of two of Australia’s major supermarket chains and the estimated grocery consumption of the average Australian. The conclusion was that an average shopping basket was brought to you by 156 Kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions, without counting the refrigeration used during transit, or any energy used during its farming, processing or packaging. I.e. this mostly concerns the food’s transportation, which is far costlier in terms of emissions when flown rather than shipped.
To put this 156 Kilograms of carbon emissions in perspective, the Sydney Morning Herald states that “The average home's energy use generates about 22 kilograms of greenhouse gases each day.”
How much energy does home grown food consume? By comparison, very little. Most of the resources used to grow your own food are rain, the Earth’s minerals and sunlight. In addition you may use the garden hose, fertilizer and some form of pesticide. Nevertheless, you can see the enormous reduction in the resources that it takes to provide food in the supermarket from within in Australia, but in particular imported goods. Obviously most people do not have the time nor the space to cultivate all their own food, but even the smallest inner city terrace has the space for a small vegie patch, a tomato, pea plant or some herbs in a pot plant. If everyone makes a small effort, this will add up to a significant difference.
Please consider the greater impact that the way we live is having on the environment. I myself am guilty, as I had not fully realized the extent of resources spent on food production, and the enormous amount of green house gases that it causes.
Reference:
Really Long Link
To put this 156 Kilograms of carbon emissions in perspective, the Sydney Morning Herald states that “The average home's energy use generates about 22 kilograms of greenhouse gases each day.”
How much energy does home grown food consume? By comparison, very little. Most of the resources used to grow your own food are rain, the Earth’s minerals and sunlight. In addition you may use the garden hose, fertilizer and some form of pesticide. Nevertheless, you can see the enormous reduction in the resources that it takes to provide food in the supermarket from within in Australia, but in particular imported goods. Obviously most people do not have the time nor the space to cultivate all their own food, but even the smallest inner city terrace has the space for a small vegie patch, a tomato, pea plant or some herbs in a pot plant. If everyone makes a small effort, this will add up to a significant difference.
Please consider the greater impact that the way we live is having on the environment. I myself am guilty, as I had not fully realized the extent of resources spent on food production, and the enormous amount of green house gases that it causes.
Reference:
Really Long Link
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