According to the researchers, if consumer food
choice theories are applied every day of the year and with equivalent changes
in domestic food production, the estimated dietary shift will achieve a decrease in emissions to meet its goals under the Paris Climate Agreement. In
the United States, many states and municipalities are still working to meet the
emissions targets and solve these problems.
Greenhouse emissions and consumer food choices |
Consumer
Food Choices can Help Reduce Greenhouse Emissions
What food choices help
fight the changing climate?
There has been little research conducted about the
affordability and feasibility of low carbon food options organized by
Connecticut University.
The study provides the most comprehensive estimation of greenhouse
gas emissions and suggests that if people have guided their food purchases with
meat and other animal proteins, they can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Full story
Recently, a new study report has
been published in the Journal Food Policy, which was jointly organized by
researchers of the UConn Rudd Centre and researchers of the Zwick Center,
and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service.
Studies show that industries producing beef and other red meat
produce the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions from domestic purchases,
about 21%, fresh vegetables, and melons 11% cheese industry 10% and milk
products and butter 7%, people guided their food purchases with meat and other
animal proteins, they could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Changing food consumption can be an important area to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions because food purchases account for 16% of greenhouse
gas emissions. Dietary changes have been proposed as a way to reduce carbon
emissions in the diet system. But a little research on affordability and
viability of low carbon food options, how can these options affect diet and
climate change?
The main author of the study with the Red Center for Food Policy and Obesity,
Rebecca Boehm, answered the above question, "Our study shows that
consumers should make food choices.
To discourage greenhouse gas emissions, this can make a real
difference in addressing climate change. In our research, we have found that
families spending more of their weekly food budgets on beef, chicken and other
meats are producing more greenhouse gas emissions; generally, animal-based
foods are more than plant-based foods.
Greenhouse gas emissions are responsible for the production of
beef cattle and dairy cows, especially associated with high emission levels.
Database on Greenhouse and
Environmental Impact Assessment
Researchers
created a database that assessed the environmental impact involved in the
production of over 300 types of food items. They linked the database to the
food procurement on the national level with the findings of the representative
data, which adds extensive domestic procurement data to the American
Environmental Protection Agency tool, which is used to calculate greenhouse gas
emissions from every stage of the food supply chain.
This can
be done in which production, manufacturing, distribution, transport, and retail
and restaurants etc.
To
estimate the distribution of the effects related to food, the National Health,
and Nutrition Examination Survey combines its database of environmental impacts
of individuals, self-reported diets.
Mr.Boehm strengthened his words in the context of the previous study "Previous studies did not always capture greenhouse gas emissions from all parts of the food system. But this study is one of our progress in understanding the contribution of food alternatives to climate change. It was great progress; cows did not convert plant-based feed into muscle or milk efficiently, so they feeding the feed often involves the use of fertilizers and other materials produced through energy-intensive processes, and then the fuel used by agricultural equipment.
Methane
bursts and their composts also release this powerful greenhouse gas. After our
study, the food system, household food expenditure pattern, and socialism.
The
relationship between greenhouse gas emissions generated by the classical
characteristics were shown. B. Now, the debate can be reported to those
findings on which food and food expenditure patterns can reduce greenhouse gas
emissions, to encourage low carbon diet. Food system, while informing
educational efforts for
According to researchers at the University of Michigan and Tulane University, high levels of beef consumption are largely responsible. Comparatively, commercial/residential activity was responsible for 12% and industrial activity was attributed to 21% of the country's greenhouse gas emissions. He researched greenhouse gas emissions from the lowest to highest, then divided them into five equal groups, or quintile.
The
highest impact group was responsible for about eight times more emissions than
the lowest quintile of the diet. And beef consumption is responsible for 72% of
the emission difference between the highest and the lowest groups.
Senior author and
Bergstrom professor in Global Nutrition in Friedman School of Nutrition Science
and Policy, Sean B. Cash, Ph.D. said "Greenhouse gas emissions produced by
household food expenditure differ from the race and academic development.
Changes in them can reduce
greenhouse gases by uneven amount. It is striking that environmentally friendly
dietary changes. Many opportunities exist with those homes that have the most
resources.
Professor Diego Rose, a chief investigator at Tulane said, "Previous studies of dietary greenhouse gas emissions related to food have focused mainly on the average diet.
The first in the United
States is the national level representative sample of thousands of Americans
Ported dietary is to pay attention, if Americans shift their diet to align with
the American average in the highest impact group - low overall consumption of
calories and less dependent on meat - one-day greenhouse - Decrease in gas
emissions will be equivalent to eliminating 661 million passenger vehicles
miles.
U-M researcher Martin Heller, in a journal of journalism journal of the
environmental research paper of continuous research systems in school for the
first author, environmental and research paper, set for publication on March
20.
Mr. Hailar said, "A
big Li-Home message for me is the fact that a large part of the overall
contribution of food-related greenhouse gases is the high-impact diet,
processing, packaging, distribution, emissions related to refrigeration, and
those Study of foodstuff was not a part of the study, but the total emissions
would increase by 30% or more.
By eating less food and
less animal-based foods, the area to minimize the impact of diet in the United
States can be a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. This climate
action that is accessible to everyone because we decide on a daily basis we
eat.
Conclusion
According to the researchers, if consumer food choice theories are
applied every day of the year and with equivalent changes in domestic food
production, the estimated dietary shift will achieve a decrease in emissions to
meet its goals under the Paris Climate Agreement.
In the United States, many
states and municipalities are still working to meet the emissions targets and
solve these problems.
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climate change
consumer food choices
consumer research
Environment
environmental-science
global greenhouse gas emissions
greenhouse emissions
healthy eating