Lecture 17 - The Resources

Locavorism

A “locavore” or “localvore” (the term is a neologism) is a person interested in eating food that is locally produced, not moved long distances to market

From Farms to the Shelves

• Industrial farms are major sources of pollution
• Fossil fuels are used
• Our food has to travel
• Fruits and vegetables spend 7 to 14 days in transit before they arrive in the store

Footprints

• A “footprint” in genera has become known as a quantitative measure showing the appropriation of natural resources or pressure on the environment by human beings
• Carbon footprint measures the amount of greenhouse gases produced, measured carbon dioxide equivalents (in tons).
• Water footprint measures water use

Fossil Fuel Use

• Fossil fuels are non-renewable energy sources that formed more than 300 million years ago
• Millions of years later we have three forms of fossil fuel: oil, natural gas and coal

Carbon Footprint

• Greenhouse gasses include carbon dioxide and methane
• Remember, it’s not just the carbon emissions that hurt; it’s also the pesticides, fertilizers, fuel, and water needed to produce the feed for all those cows and pigs
• The message instead is simply to eat and waste less of what we produce and to look for greener options - meat from grass-fed, pasture-raised animals, for example
• Asking everyone to go vegetarian or vegan is not a realistic or attainable goal, chef and television personality Mario Batali told EWG. “But we can focus on a more plant-based diet and support the farmers who raise their animals humanely and sustainably”

CO2 Emissions Ranked

1. Lamb
2. Beef
3. Cheese
4. Pork
5. Farmed Salmon
6. Turkey
7. Chicken
8. Canned Tuna
9. Eggs
10. Potatoes

Thanksgiving

• The carbon footprint of the first Thanksgiving meal was approximatelyz zero.
• A bird emits a significantly smaller amount of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide in its waste than a cow or a sheep does.
• The green veggies are likely to be the most Earth-friendly part of your Thanksgiving meal
• Thanksgiving meals might be responsible for emitting more than 10 pounds of greenhouse gas into the atmosphere

Food miles

• Food miles purportedly measure the carbon footprint of food production and distribution

• A single indicator based on miles traveled is not a valid indicator of sustainability

• Growing food locally may require a considerable amount of carbon producing energy compared to growing in ideal, and sometimes distant, environments where production is less energy intensive

• Miles traveled is merely one small indicator of emission

• Smaller, family run farms do best in the local food economy

• Naysayers of local food systems: food transported long distances can have less of an environmental impact than locally growing foods

• In 2011, a study examined the effects of localizing all fruit and vegetable consumption in Santa Barbara county, CA

• Reduction in greenhouse gas emissions was less than 1%

Local Food Systems

If local food system produced food in a way that

• Sequesters soil carbon
• Naturally maintains soil fertility
• Does not depend on toxic chemicals
• Optimized transportation & distribution
• Consumers stored, prepared food in a way that conserved energy

Then there would be huge savings

Water footprint

• The largest water footprint of a beverage company, for example, is not bottled water
• Instead, it can be traced to the main agricultural ingredients used in flavored drinks, such as sugar, oranges or barely

Diesel

• Current fuel of choice

• Natural gas substitution?

• Not a suitable alternative

  • Premium product
  • Used for production of chemicals, plastics, fertilizers

• The more massive and slower a transportation vehicle is: the less energy it uses

• Lighter, high speed vehicles - deliver faster; with higher energy consumption

Chocolate vs. Lettuce

• The real impact of distance when transporting foods, depends on caloric content of foods & transportation methods
• Lettuce: highly perishable; high impact on energy spent in relation to its energy content
• An iceberg lettuce flown from California to UK by air needs 127 calories of fuel for every calorie provided by the lettuce

Waste Management

• High on food processor’s agenda today
• Manufacturers and retailers are taking steps to reduce food waste, however
  • “hidden waste” is not accounted for in traditional waste disposal streams
  • Consumer waste is relatively greater than that associated with manufacturers and retailers

Issues with Green Revolution

• Global warming - as it relies heavily on fossil fuels
• As an industry - farming world’s single largest consumer of petroleum products - oil, coal, natural gas - finite