Food

From ClimateNetworkWiki

Jump to: navigation, search

''Food is a Solutions page in the Knowledge Base that is designed to help the Planning pillar of goBEYOND. Contribute to our Knowledge Base by adding the food initiatives, policy, or models that are used on your campus.

The bad new about food is that although we all need it, it is a significant source of GHG emissions from farm to plate to waste. The good news is that reducing the carbon footprint of food is possible, and has many other positive ripple effects in the local environment, economy, and community. Schools across BC and the world have already made big advances in moving towards sustainable food services, and you can help your school do so as well.

Contents

Food and GHG Emissions

Emissions of the major greenhouse gases CO2, CH4, N2O and hydrofluorcarbons (HCFCs) are closely associated with food production and consumption (Carlsson-Kanyama, 1998 [1]) through such actions as the use of fossil fuels in farm equipment, the application of nitrogen-based fertilizers, the digestive processes of cows, sheep, and pigs, and refrigeration, transportation, cooking, and disposal of food and associated packaging.

The consumption of food has been identified as one of the most polluting activities within a household by many researchers (Carlsson-Kanyama, 1998 [1]). Data on campus-wide GHG emissions associated with food are not yet widely available (although UBC plans to include emissions associated with food in future emissions inventories (Leadership and the Climate Agenda, 2008, pg. 4[2])). Researchers have found that CO2 emissions associated with food make up a significant portion of an individual students' total GHG emissions. The figure below shows that CO2 emissions from food make up more than 20% of the total GHG emissions of an average university student in Japan.

Image:japanese student CO2 pie chart.jpg
From: Kihara, I. and Inoue, T. 2002 [3].

As this data shows, changing our food habits, individually and institutionally, is an important part of going beyond carbon neutral.

What is Sustainable Food?

Our current global food system is very dependent on fossil fuels, and now is the time to find ways to change, so that we can meet our food needs without contributing to climate change. Colleges and universities are ideally suited for experimenting with reducing the climate impact of food production, given that we purchase food at an institutional level, and have the capacity to do research.
Life-Cycle Analysis
Life cycle analysis (Berlin, 2002 [4]) or material flow analysis (Risku-Norjaa and Mäenpääb, 2007 [5]) can be used to measure the GHG emissions and other environmental impacts resulting from the whole life of a product (Berlin, 2002 [4]). This form of analysis can be used to determine the least energy intensive and most environmentally beneficial food system designs.
The following figure, from the United Nations Environment Program, shows many of the stages of food production, consumption, and disposal, and reveals that there is opportunity for improvement at many stages along the chain. Image: food life-cycle analysis (UNEP).jpg

From: UNEP Sustainable Agri-Food Production and Consumption Forum
The UNEP has a series of publications on life-cycle analysis for further reading.

Organics
One of the methods proposed for reducing GHG emissions from food is to grow it organically. Some studies have found that organic foods are responsible for less GHG emissions than conventional agriculture, while some have found them to be responsible for greater GHG emissions. For example, the global warming potential of the production of a loaf of organic bread has been found to be lower than that of a conventional loaf of bread (Meisterling, K. et al. 2008 [6]). However, since organic food often travels farther from farm to market than a conventional loaf, the conventional and organic loaves of bread studied end up having a similar GHG impact (Meisterling, K. et al. 2008 [7]). To illustrate the opposite finding, organic milk production was found to result in much greater GHG emissions than conventional milk production (Cederberg and Mattsson, 2000 [8]). However, although it results in 10–15% higher methane emissions, is can still be seen as environmentally beneficial because it contributes to land use which promotes biodiversity and aesthetic values (Cederberg and Mattsson, 2000 [8]). Although organic methods are not always clearly better in terms of climate change, it is still important to investigate how they can help reduce our reliance on fossil fuel-based fertilizers and pesticides, as well as how different soil management practices can either act as a source or a sink for carbon and other greenhouse gasses, in addition to the other environmental benefits organic methods provide, such as avoiding carcinogens and other toxins and reducing eutrophication of waterways.

Local Food
Transportation of food can contribute significantly to its total carbon footprint. For this reason, many are advocating reducing the distance food travels from farm to plate through choosing local food (Stephens, Pretty and Sutherland, 2003 [9], Sim et al. 2007 [10]). Many researchers recommend that decisions about sustainable food choices consider many more aspects than just the distance food travels (Sim et al. 2007 [11], Dutilh and Kramer, 2000 [12]), and others suggest that energy use in production and processing may be more important than transportation (Edwards-Jones et al. 2008. [13], Cowell and Parkinson, 2003 [14]). Some factors affecting the GHG emissions associated with food, in addition to the distance they travel, include:

  • different farming practices such as:
    • fertilizing
    • tilling
    • fuel use
    • field vs. heated greenhouse
  • the energy required for processing or refrigerating
  • type of transit (air, rail, road, sea)
  • type of food chosen (eg: animal vs. vegetable protein sources)
  • how it is prepared
  • amount of wasted food
  • disposal of waste

The current thinking is that local is best when it's in season and grown in a field rather than in a greenhouse (BBC 2008 [15]).

Vegetarian Diets
It is clear that the production and consumption of a serving of meat has much higher GHG impact than a serving of legumes (Zhu and van Lerland, 2004 [16]), but there are still environmental tradeoffs to consider. For example, other studies into sustainable food choices emphasize that “grazing farm animals have had an important role in creation and maintenance of open rural landscapes with high degree of biodiversity of wild species” (Risku-Norjaa and Mäenpääb, 2007 [5]). Also, a backyard chicken that eats table scraps and helps protect the vegetable garden from slugs has a very different environmental impact than a chicken raised in a factory farm from imported feed, and may prove to be more environmentally-beneficial than harmful. There is room for more research into this area.

Waste
Food waste is a significant source of GHG emissions (Berlin, 2002) [17], Dutilh and Kramer, 2000 [12], Sonesson et al. 2005. [18]) over which consumers, including both individuals and schools, can have a big impact. Reducing food waste can save money as well, making waste reduction a good initiative to pair with other food initiatives that may increase costs. Also see Waste for information about composting programs.

Planning Process

Your school's food services can go beyond carbon neutral, providing healthy food for students and staff while encouraging low-carbon farming practices. The Guide to Developing a Sustainable Food Purchasing Policy [19] is a great resource for you to use. It provides advice on establishing an institutional commitment, creating a planning team, establishing a vision and strategies, creating a plan, and evaluating the program. Examples from institutions who have established a sustainable food purchasing policy are included.

One of their suggestions is to avoid confusing means with ends (Buck, 2007 p.7 [19]). As mentioned in the above section, local and organic foods are means rather than ends in themselves. Your end in this case may be to go beyond carbon neutral, and may involve other outcomes such as encouraging thriving local farming economies, or reducing of pesticide use. When developing the vision, remember that you are part of an educational and research-based institution and that through this initiative you have the potential to contribute to the body of knowledge regarding the sustainability of the food we eat.

Case Studies

Many schools have begun to change the way they eat to reflect their environmental concerns and to reduce their climate impact. Here are a few examples - please add yours!

BC Case Studies

  • UBC Food Services have many food sustainability initiatives, including purchasing produce from the UBC farm, preferential procurement of local food and low-impact packaging products (eg: all eggs are now from local, free range hens, and all apples will soon be BC-grown and organic), and buying only seafood that meets Ocean Wise standards. Sprouts, a cafe and natural food coop at the University of British Columbia was started in 2004 from a business plan written by students in UBC's faculty of business. It offers a variety of organic and local foods, including food from UBC's Farm. It recently won the Oikos Award for Student Entrepreneurship in Higher Education.
  • At least one local food menu item is available at the University of Victoria every day at restaurants in the Student Union Building. Students, faculty, and staff have access to local produce through weekly pocket markets [1], and can grow their own food in the campus community garden [2].


International Case Studies

  • 80 percent of the produce served in the dining halls at Santa Clara University comes from local farms, and fair-trade coffee, cage-free eggs, and hormone-free milk are served (Sustainable Endowments Institute, 2008 [20]).
  • Oberlin College has an and http://www.oberlin.edu/cds/features/eatlocalchallenge.html "Eat Local Challenge"
  • Brown University Dining Services source local and fair-traded products.
  • In order to reduce waste, many universities and colleges in the U.S., including the University of Connecticut, the University of Central Florida, the University of Florida, Palm Beach Atlantic University, and Northwood University are going without trays in school cafeterias (Shrieves, 2008 [21]). Some schools have found that food waste has shrunk by 50%, and all schools are reducing their costs, energy and water use associated with washing the trays (Horovitz, 2008. [22]).

Campaigns

  • Bottled Water has a large carbon footprint, from packaging to transportation to waste disposal. Switching to tap water is one way to reduce carbon emissions from your diet. Read more on the environmental impacts of and campus campaigns about bottled water here.
  • Urban Hen Movement: tips on starting a Urban Hen Movement in your town to work on Food Security.
  • The Campus Climate Network is partnering with the BC Government Employees Union (BCGEU) and the BC Food Systems Network to work on a provincial food campaign. Check out our notes Regional Food Campaign

Links and Resources


References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Carlsson-Kanyama, Annika. 1998. Climate change and dietary choices — how can emissions of greenhouse gases from food consumption be reduced? Food Policy Journal. Volume 23, Issues 3-4, November 1998, Pages 277-293.
  2. ↑ UBC Sustainability Office, 2008. Leadership and the Climate Agenda: Discussion Paper. http://www.sustain.ubc.ca/pdfs/ubc_climate.discussion.pdf. Accessed August 2008.
  3. ↑ Kihara, Isanobu, and Inoue, Takashi. 2002. CO2 emissions per individual based on a survey of university students. Applied Energy, Volume 72, Issues 3-4, July-August 2002, Pages 645-658.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Berlin J. 2002. Environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) of semi-hard cheese. Int. Dairy J. 12,939–953.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Risku-Norjaa, Helmi, and Mäenpääb, Ilmo. 2007. MFA model to assess economic and environmental consequences of food production and consumption. Ecological Economics, Volume 60, Issue 4, 1 February 2007, Pages 700-71.
  6. ↑ Meisterlilng, Kyle, Samaras, Constantine, ad Schweizer, Vanessa. 2008. Decisions to reduce greenhouse gases from agriculture and product transport: LCA case study of organic and conventional wheat. Journal of Cleaner Production. (Article in Press – Corrected Proof)
  7. ↑
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Cederberg, Christel and Mattsson, Berit. 2000. Life cycle assessment of milk production — a comparison of conventional and organic farming. Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 8, Issue 1, February 2000, Pages 49-60.
  9. ↑ Stephens, Philip A. Pretty, Jules N.. and Sutherland, William J. 2003. Agriculture, transport policy and landscape heterogeneity. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Volume 18, Issue 11, November 2003, Pages 555-556.
  10. ↑ Sim, Sarah, Barry, Mike, Clift, Roland, and Cowell, Sarah J. 2007. The relative importance of transport in determining an appropriate sustainability strategy for food sourcing: A case study of fresh produce supply chains. The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, Volume 12, Number 6 / September, 2007
  11. ↑
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Dutilh C.E., and Kramer K.J. 2000. Energy consumption in the food chain, comparing alternative options in food production and consumption. Ambio. 29,98–101.
  13. ↑ Edwards-Jones, Gareth, Mila I Canals, Llorenc, Hounsome, Natalia, Truniger, Monica, Koerber, Georgia, Hounsome, Barry, Cross, Paul, York, Elizabeth H., Hospido, Almudena, Plassmann, Katharina, Harris, Ian M. Edwards, Rhiannon T., Day, Graham A. S., Tomos, Deri A., Cowell, Sarah J., Jones, David L. 2008. Testing the assertion that ‘local food is best’: the challenges of an evidence-based approach. Trends in Food Science & Technology, Volume 19, Issue 5, May 2008, Pages 265-274.
  14. ↑ Cowell, Sarah J., and Parkinson, Stuart. 2003. Localisation of UK food production: an analysis using land area and energy as indicators. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, Volume 94, Issue 2, February 2003, Pages 221-236
  15. ↑ BBC. 2008. Buying seasonal, local foods. http://www.bbc.co.uk/bloom/actions/localseasonalfood.shtml#quickjump. Accessed September, 2008.
  16. ↑ Zhu, Xueqin and van Ierland, Ekko C. (2004) 'Protein Chains and Environmental Pressures: A Comparison of Pork and Novel Protein Foods', Environmental Sciences,1:3,254 — 276
  17. ↑
  18. ↑ Sonesson, Ulf, Mattsson, Berit, Nybrant, Thomas, and Ohlsson, Thomas. Industrial Processing versus Home Cooking: An Environmental Comparison between Three Ways to Prepare a Meal. AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment, Volume 34, Issue 4 (June 2005), pp. 414–421.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Buck, Matthew. 2007. A Guide to Developing a Sustsainable Food Purchasing Policy. Food Alliance. http://www.sustainablefoodpolicy.org/. Accessed August 2008.
  20. ↑ Sustainable Endowments Institute, 2008. College Sustainability Report Card: A Review of Campus & Endowment Policies at Leading Institutions. http://www.endowmentinstitute.org/sustainability/CollegeSustainabilityReportCard2008.pdf. Accessed August 2008.
  21. ↑ Shrieves, Linda. "More and more colleges say you don't need a dining tray" Orlando Sentinel, August 21, 2008. http://www.courant.com/topic/orl-trayless2108aug21,0,7769976.story
  22. ↑ Horovitz, Bruce. 2008. "More college cafeterias dump food trays." USA Today. June 25, 2008. http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2008-07-22-trays-college-cafeterias_N.htm Accessed September 2008
Retrieved from "http://www.campusclimatenetwork.org/wiki/Food"
Personal tools
Campus Climate Network