What is a Carbon Footprint?
The carbon footprint of an individual or group of people presents the amount of carbon emissions or greenhouse gases (in tonnes) they emit from their daily activities. Usually, the result are displayed as a visual representation such as the amount of earths the person needs to fulfill their daily needs. The factors that are included into calculating the carbon footprint are:
- Water usage: the amount of water used daily/monthly/yearly (shower, sink, toilet, cooking)
- Electricity usage: the amount of electricity used daily/monthly/yearly (bills, lights, electronics)
- Air Travel: the amount of vacations/business trips done yearly (plane trips both long and short)
- Fuel usage: the amount of fuel used daily/monthly/yearly (cars, buses, trains, amount of times vehicle is refueled)
- Amount of meat eaten: the amount of meat weekly (the percentage of food types eaten, amount of times shopping is done)
Why Care?
Global warming has a direct correlation with the amount of carbon a diet has. A high carbon
footprint concludes that a large amount of carbon is being emitted into the
atmosphere. One of the main effects of large carbon emissions is the global
warming increasing the earth’s temperatures causing irregular weather patterns
(droughts, and monsoons) and the melting of the ice caps. This then affects agricultural
production as the weather becomes unpredictable and areas that do not receive
much rain will have an even harder time supplying their country—or
exporting—with food.Even though global warming is inevitable, due to the world going through another era such as the Ice Age, carbon emission has been rapidly increasing. Research has stated that the earth’s temperature has been increasing by 0.2 degree per decade and will continue to speedup due to the amount of carbon emissions that are being emitted into the atmosphere. That is due to carbon emissions, usually in the form of carbon dioxide (CO2), being a type of greenhouse gas that builds up below the atmosphere and reflects the heat created by the earth therefore creating global warming.
Carbon Calculators
To calculate the amount of carbon emissions an individual or group of people emit into the atmosphere, online calculators have been designed to aid us with gaining that information. However, this site is about lowering the carbon footprint on your diet and to do so, specialized calculators that focus on finding the carbon emissions of a certain meal is limited. Below is a list of calculators that focus on the carbon emissions of food items:
Below are several links to possible carbon calculators to use when calculating the carbon footprint of each meal:
http://www.foodemissions.com/foodemissions/Calculator.aspx
Below are several links to possible carbon calculators to use when calculating the carbon footprint of each meal:
http://www.foodemissions.com/foodemissions/Calculator.aspx
+Has an array of specifications that will help create an accurate image of what the carbon footprint of the meal is by including the food group, distance traveled in the distribution stage, and quantity.
-This calculator is only valid for those living in North America which may cause the results to be inaccurate as they do not follow the customs of any other country.
http://www.foodcarbon.co.uk/index.html
-This calculator is only valid for those living in North America which may cause the results to be inaccurate as they do not follow the customs of any other country.
http://www.foodcarbon.co.uk/index.html
+ Asks specific questions on what your diet consists of to make an accurate calculation of your carbon footprint.
-Only calculates diets and not individual food items or meals which will not be very helpful when calculating the carbon footprint of the designed menus.
http://www.carbonneutral.com.au/carbon-calculator/food.html
-Only calculates diets and not individual food items or meals which will not be very helpful when calculating the carbon footprint of the designed menus.
http://www.carbonneutral.com.au/carbon-calculator/food.html
+Allows for the calculation of individual food groups which will then accurately give the carbon emissions for the designed meals.
-Does not calculate for daily consumption which will then cause time to be wasted on dividing the number by a week to collect the carbon emissions of one meal.
http://www.unileverfoodsolutions.se/inspiration-foer-dig/your-menu/klimatsmart-mat/klimatsmart-mat
-Does not calculate for daily consumption which will then cause time to be wasted on dividing the number by a week to collect the carbon emissions of one meal.
http://www.unileverfoodsolutions.se/inspiration-foer-dig/your-menu/klimatsmart-mat/klimatsmart-mat
+Each food category has several item options that are individually calculated and are also accumulated when placed into the bowl therefore allowing for the calculation of the exact meal.
-Some ingredients are missing and the calculator is in German which will cause time to be wasted on translating.
How does Lowering the Carbon in you Meal Help the Environment?
Lowering the amount of carbon that is available in a meal significantly lowers the amount of carbon that is emitted in the atmosphere. The amount of processed food that is consumed today has largely increased over the last decade. In supermarkets, all the products that can be purchased have been processed. It is one of the contributors to greenhouse gases as during its life cycle, large amount of fossil fuels are used and released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, increasing global warming. In the pre-production stage of food processing, it affects climate change through consuming large amount of energy to grow and harvest crops and animals, with 21% of the total energy used to process them used in this stage. Raising livestock also takes a toll on the global climate as the amount of waste they produce is a lot more than vegetable and fruits. For example, a tomato only requires 15 liters of water while a cow requires 2,400 liters of water. Animals also emit methane gas which further adds to global warming. Not only does it greatly contribute to the ever-growing layer of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the pesticides and hormones required to grow them also affect the immediate surroundings such as poisoning the soil and nearby waterways.
Manufacturing the processed food, such as the packaging, also requires a large amount of fossil fuels to compete up to 7% of the total energy. Frozen foods require even more as they have to be kept cold.
On average, it takes 1,300 miles for a food product to be delivered to the consumer’s plate causing the distribution stage to greatly affect the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere due to the vehicles consuming fossil fuels, therefore, increasing the carbon footprint.
Changing to a more low-carbon diet will allow for carbon emissions to be significantly reduced therefore slowing down global warming.
Manufacturing the processed food, such as the packaging, also requires a large amount of fossil fuels to compete up to 7% of the total energy. Frozen foods require even more as they have to be kept cold.
On average, it takes 1,300 miles for a food product to be delivered to the consumer’s plate causing the distribution stage to greatly affect the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere due to the vehicles consuming fossil fuels, therefore, increasing the carbon footprint.
Changing to a more low-carbon diet will allow for carbon emissions to be significantly reduced therefore slowing down global warming.