Footprint of different eating patterns
29/09/08 15:12 Filed in: Villager's
News
Ask not what your food can do for you,
but what your food can do for your environmental
footprint!
A German study which converted emissions from food production into car-trip equivalents found organic equates to a lower number on the clock for almost every type of food production covered. Organic production of 1kg of winter wheat crop was the equivalent of driving 1.5 km where conventional was 3.4 km. For 1kg of pork produced organic drove 17.4 km with conventional up at 25.8 km. And producing 1kg of cheese from 10L of milk took organic 65.5 km with conventional hitting 71.4 km.
When it came to diet choices, organic was also a ‘low-km’ winner. The study found an overall ‘eat everything’ diet including meat, dairy, fruit and veg took a conventional eater 4758 km from their starting point, with organic travelling 381 km less at 4377km. And where food choices were no-meat, no-dairy and organic, eater’s footprints were further reduced to a car-trip covering a mere 281 km, 6.8% of the conventional original drive, and 348km lower than a conventional vegetarian diet. The only area an organic approach didn’t come out in front was meat production from feedlots – organic was the equivalent of driving 113.4km, compared to 70.6 km for conventional.
Dr. Andrew Monk, Biological Farmers of Australia Standards Chair, said it was important to remember overseas figures were not always relevant to Australia because production methods varied. He said conscious consumers would fare best by focusing on the whole “package”, not just on CO2 emissions, even if organic was a winner in this field. “For example, taking into consideration issues like growth hormones, excessive feed requirements and animal welfare in meat production.” He said there was no doubt organic food was more in tune with its environment. “Organic systems do not use fossil-fuel based chemicals that emit nitrous oxides and damage microbial soil life – the bedrock of fixing carbon in soil."
[From Biological Farmers of Australia - www.bfa.com.au - Press Release 25 September 2008]
A German study which converted emissions from food production into car-trip equivalents found organic equates to a lower number on the clock for almost every type of food production covered. Organic production of 1kg of winter wheat crop was the equivalent of driving 1.5 km where conventional was 3.4 km. For 1kg of pork produced organic drove 17.4 km with conventional up at 25.8 km. And producing 1kg of cheese from 10L of milk took organic 65.5 km with conventional hitting 71.4 km.
When it came to diet choices, organic was also a ‘low-km’ winner. The study found an overall ‘eat everything’ diet including meat, dairy, fruit and veg took a conventional eater 4758 km from their starting point, with organic travelling 381 km less at 4377km. And where food choices were no-meat, no-dairy and organic, eater’s footprints were further reduced to a car-trip covering a mere 281 km, 6.8% of the conventional original drive, and 348km lower than a conventional vegetarian diet. The only area an organic approach didn’t come out in front was meat production from feedlots – organic was the equivalent of driving 113.4km, compared to 70.6 km for conventional.
Dr. Andrew Monk, Biological Farmers of Australia Standards Chair, said it was important to remember overseas figures were not always relevant to Australia because production methods varied. He said conscious consumers would fare best by focusing on the whole “package”, not just on CO2 emissions, even if organic was a winner in this field. “For example, taking into consideration issues like growth hormones, excessive feed requirements and animal welfare in meat production.” He said there was no doubt organic food was more in tune with its environment. “Organic systems do not use fossil-fuel based chemicals that emit nitrous oxides and damage microbial soil life – the bedrock of fixing carbon in soil."
[From Biological Farmers of Australia - www.bfa.com.au - Press Release 25 September 2008]