My copy of Conservation arrived a couple of days ago.The cover story is "The problem of what to eat" - and it is a problem. Natasha Loder points out that eating locally doesn't do much to reduce your carbon footprint. Over 80% of the carbon footprint associated with food consumption is associated with producing the food, not transporting it. Citing results from a study by Weber et al.,1 she points out that "foregoing red meat and dairy use one day a week achieves more greenhouse gas reductions than eating an entire week's worth of locally sourced foods."So if you're concerned about what your eating habits are doing to the climate, eat less red meat and dairy.
The Conservation story is actually a composite of four smaller contributions. Loder's is titled "Does buying local reduce your carbon footprint?". The others are "Is it time to replace the plow?" (by Elizabeth Finkel), "Is it realistic to give up nitrogen fertilizer?" (by Craig Meisner), and "What if organic farmers joined forces with genetic engineers?" (by Pamela Ronald). All are well worth reading if you're interested in how food production and conservation interact.
Another item worth checking out is the water footprint calculator at waterfootprint.org.2
1Weber, C.L., Matthews, H.S. (2008). Food-Miles and the Relative Climate Impacts of Food Choices in the United States. Environmental Science & Technology, 42(10), 3508-3513. DOI: 10.1021/es702969f
2Justin Matlick points out that "it takes 1,000 liters of water to make a liter of milk, but only 75 liters go into a pint of beer." Another reason to avoid dairy? Unfortunately, it takes almost as much water (960 liters) to make a liter of wine as it does to make a liter of milk.
Another item worth checking out is the water footprint calculator at waterfootprint.org.2
1Weber, C.L., Matthews, H.S. (2008). Food-Miles and the Relative Climate Impacts of Food Choices in the United States. Environmental Science & Technology, 42(10), 3508-3513. DOI: 10.1021/es702969f
2Justin Matlick points out that "it takes 1,000 liters of water to make a liter of milk, but only 75 liters go into a pint of beer." Another reason to avoid dairy? Unfortunately, it takes almost as much water (960 liters) to make a liter of wine as it does to make a liter of milk.
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