the basics about carbon
Let us start with some basics – just in case. Feel free to skip ahead if you already know about the history of carbon emissions.
You may have had someone tell you that carbon emissions are a natural occurrence, and they are correct, but probably not in the way they were answering your concern. Even though it is natural, the amount of carbon in the air today is cause for concern.
I think this might work best if we start at the beginning. Carbon is created for example when plants die and decay in bogs and swamps, and when plankton die and fall to the bottom of the ocean floor. These are the stores of carbon that we draw from for today’s supply of fossil fuels – coal, oil, and gas. The reliance that we now have on these is the problem. And our usage has been rapidly increasing in recent years even with everything that scientists know and have told us.
Since the 1800’s our usage of fossil fuels for energy has grown while we heat our homes, fuel our vehicles, and run the electricity for our houses, schools, and places of work. All this burning of fossil fuels releases more and more carbon into the air. So that natural carbon in the air has surpassed its tipping point because of our activities as humans.
enter global warming
Historically and still today, Earth’s atmosphere does its job by preventing all the sun’s heat from escaping. You have probably heard of this. It makes Earth warm enough for us to live on because of this Greenhouse Effect. Too much of these gases, which include carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide increase the Earth’s temperatures. Enter Global Warming. This is bad, no matter how naturally occurring carbon is! Too much carbon emitted, holds too much heat too close, and this is what has led us to the Climate Change Crisis. We will not talk about the role that deforestation activities, and our use of single-use items play. Let’s stay focused on carbon emissions and our food choices.
Too much carbon equals too hot of a planet. This affects the ocean temperatures, melts ice which in turn influences wildlife, habitats and creates wildfires, floods, droughts, and other extreme weather occurrences.
Oh dear! It can be overwhelming!
The more you know, the more distressing it can be. Unfortunately, so much so that we now have several words to express anxiety over the climate crisis. But again, let’s stay focused and positive. Yes, there is a positive on which we can focus. The smartest leaders, scientists, innovators, and inventors are coming together around the world, brainstorming, and developing solutions.
Meanwhile, back in our own communities there is something pretty powerful we can do. Our actions can help to buy more time for those innovative solutions to be evaluated and implemented. What is it you ask! It is simply changing what we eat. I know it sounds ridiculous, but what we eat matters. Food production adds to our emissions and is responsible for more than thirty percent of annual greenhouse gas emissions. “There are approximately thirty farmed animals for every human on the planet.”[1] Unfortunately, most of these animals are on factory farms. Roughly, just over 8 billion humans with 240 billion farm animals raised for food and animal products.
What?!
Does anyone else find that shocking?! I am quite certain that I do not need thirty farm animals raised on factory farms to sustain just me. And, without me going into all the details, imagine the number of resources like water, land, food, and antibiotics these animals need to then become our food. This whole food system is bad for humans and horrific for the animals in it. I am not attacking farming or trying to jump on a soap box about the treatment of animals, just stating some facts about how farming is today which is extremely different from the way that farming used to be. Factory farming is appalling and so is the sheer number of animals that are a part of this. And believe it or not, this contributes quite a bit to the issue of climate change.
What’s on your plate
Solution time!
Here it is … can you reduce the amount of beef, dairy, and animal-based food products that you consume?
Please say yes!
You can start by changing just a small percentage of your daily calorie intake from something animal-based to something plant-based. Maybe you can replace the burger for dinner with veggie tacos instead, or switch up your bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich for an oatmeal muffin or chia pudding. There are delicious options out there, I promise!
The ingredients on your plate matter in this fight to save our planet. All our food produces a different amount of carbon from their production, transportation, and packaging, never mind the preparation and potential food waste disposal. For example, the general consensus states that to produce one kilogram of beef, roughly seventy plus kilos of greenhouse gas are emitted. Alternatively, one kilogram of vegetables produces less than one kilogram of greenhouse gas.
Agriculture is one of the largest sources of methane, one of the greenhouse gases, and methane gas has a much greater potential for trapping and heating the air. Reducing methane gas is the fastest and most powerful way that we can positively affect the climate.
us regular people
It is the heavy lifting we – us regular people – can do. We can slow down climate change just by changing what is on our plate. At least a couple of times a week, or once a day – you decide – fill your plate with nuts, vegetables, fruits, and grains. Even substituting beef for fish, pork or chicken has an environmental benefit. Let us help our world leaders, scientists, innovators, and inventors by reducing the food carbon emission footprint. They will feel encouraged, and we will give them more time to produce the necessary solutions to save our planet and put Earth on a path to having a healthy balance of Greenhouse gases once again.
Who’s with me?
If you want some easy and delicious plant-based recipes, check out my recipe section on www.thecarbonemisionsproject.com
To read more about improving your food carbon impact, here are two of my favorite books to help you get started. We Are The Weather, Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast by Jonathan Safran Foer, The Carbon Almanac: It’s Not Too Late by Seth Godin
[1] Jonathan Safran Foer, We Are The Weather, (New York, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2019) 79
Better for cuddling than eating!
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