Sustainable Orillia is committed to helping people make choices that add up to real impact in the face of a changing climate. Here are some facts that may surprise you and (hopefully) inspire you to make small food swaps that can really lessen your carbon footprint.
Over the coming months we will be launching a resource hub on our website that will have tips and tricks and all sorts of information to help you consider the planet when planning your menus. We are excited to share more in the coming weeks.
Did you know that:
- Our current food system accounts for 26% of our overall carbon footprint. The remainder is largely transportation and cooling and heating our homes.
- Animal agriculture causes 58% of the GHG emissions of our food production but only provides 38% of our protein consumption and 17% of our calorie consumption.
- The digestive processes of cattle, sheep and goats produce the highly potent greenhouse gas, methane. Methane is approximately 80 times more potent at trapping heat than carbon dioxide.
- We are using almost half of the world’s habitable/arable land for agriculture and almost 75% of that is used for livestock.
- The heavy and growing demand for land to graze livestock and to grow crops for additional feed for livestock often leads to deforestation—causing habitat loss for wildlife, threatening critical ecosystems, and releasing more GHGs.
- Manure and the fertilizer used for the growing of animal feed produce the highly potent GHG N2O and also lead to water pollution and eutrophication.
- If everyone were 100% vegan, our food production would require only ¼ of the land that is used today and less than ½ of the water used. Eutrophication would be reduced by roughly 75% and our impact on biodiversity would be ⅓ of what it is now. Industrial animal agriculture is a “middleman” in the production of food for humans. Our limited resources (land, energy, and water) are used to feed animals that eventually feed humans. In financial transactions, each time goods or services change hands on their way to the consumer, a cost is added. In the case of animal agriculture, it is not only the consumer of the final animal product that pays the inflated price for dietary sustenance. The “planet” pays through the loss of ecosystems and the increase in climate warming, both of which reduce the beauty and habitability of the earth.
We hope you have found some compelling reasons to consider making some small swaps in how you decide to fuel yourself. We can’t wait to share more information, tips and tricks, and support in helping you to do just that!