ook at a packet of Quorn mince and
you’ll discover that a 75g serving
contains 10.9g of protein, 3.4g of
carbohydrates and 0.4g of saturated
fat. Later this year, a glance at the
packet will tell you something else:
that producing the 75g serving released
the equivalent of 0.16kg of carbon dioxide
into the atmosphere.
Since 2011, Quorn Foods has been
working with researchers at Sheffield
Hallam University and Innovate UK, a non-
departmental public body, to calculate the
carbon footprint of its meatless products.
Now it has had the information certified
by the Carbon Trust, and plans to add it
to product packets later this year. Doing
so should, says Quorn Foods, “better
[inform] people who want to understand
the environmental impact of the foods
they buy”. But will the move really help
Britons understand and lower their dietary
carbon footprint – and how close can we
get to a zero-carbon diet?L
Judging by the volume of media coverage on the subject,
consumers are increasingly interested in cutting their carbon
footprints. Focusing on food is a good place to start. According
to a 2012 study, food-related processes release about one-fifth of
the UK’s total annual greenhouse gas emissions, or 167 million
tonnes of CO 2 e. (Greenhouse gas emissions are often measured
in CO 2 e – carbon dioxide equivalent – for simplicity. This is
a single measure that includes the warming potential from
all greenhouse gases emitted by a given industry, including
carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxides and so on.)NO MEAN FEAT
There’s another reason why Brits wanting to lower their carbon
footprint should begin with their diet: it’s one aspect of our
lives over which we have a relatively high degree of control.
“Many people are in rental accommodation so there’s little
they can do to make their home more energy efficient, and
they don’t necessarily have much choice about transportation
to and from work,” says Prof Peter Scarborough at the
University of Oxford, who researches population, nutrition
and sustainability. “But diet is absolutely something they
can choose to change.”
This doesn’t necessarily mean that footprint labelling on food
ILLUSTRATION: TOM STRAW will help UK consumers lower the carbon cost of their diet. For^2
CARBON-FREEDIET FE ATURE
With vegan lifestyles becoming more popular, and food manufacturers printing carbon
footprints on their packaging, we wonder what it really takes to eat a diet that doesn’t
damage our planet
by COLIN BARRAS