Question

1. Write the ingredient list of your meal with the associated greenhouse gas emissions individually (for each ingredient).
2. Then, add the greenhouse gas emissions of your total meal.
3. In a few sentences discuss your meal. Are there ways you could reduce your greenhouse gas emission by substituting different products?

Answer 1

Green house gas emissions are produced in the growing, processing,packaging,transportation,sale and consumption of food. The three main green house gases carbon dioxide,methane and nitrous oxide are emitted in the process in the food system.

My meals contains the following Lamb,cheese,chicken,Eggs,potatoes,rice,nuts,milk,tomatoes and lentils and the CO2 are as follows.

kilogram of food consumed The amount of emissions of CO2(in KG)

Lamb    39.2

cheese 13.5

chicken    6.9

Eggs 4.8

Potatoes 2.9

Rice    2.7

Nuts 2.3

Milk 1.9

Tomatoes    1.1

Lentils 0.9

If I consume the above listed foods one kg leads to that much emissions. for the total year. It brings huge amount of carbon di oxide into the environment.

The carbon emissions can be reduced by the following steps,

Going local i.e.buying local has gained interest as a consumer food choice.some local options such as community gardens,farms,and greenhouses,community supported agriculture offer social and economic benefits to consumers.

local food maybe fresher than food shipped from out of state.buying local foods such as heirloom fruits and vegetables can help maintain genetic diversity in our plant based foods

limiting your carbon footprint on a budget consumer have many economical ways to choose foods with smaller carbon footprints such as

plan meals and shopping trips.If you buy what you need for the week you will be less likely to eat out or to make an Unnecessary trip.

purchase only what know you will eat .purchased food that has been minimally packaged -packaging consumes additional energy for example if you are at the grocery store and need to choose between a potato that has been individually wrapped and an unwrapped potato,choose the unwrapped one.