BBC Focus - 04.2020_

CARBON-FREE DIET FEATURE

It is surprisinglydifficulttoworkoutthecarbonfootprintassociatedwithourdiets:it dependsasmuchonwhereandhowthefoodwebuywasgrownas
whatweactuallyeat.Forinstance,somebeefcomesfromcalvesraisedwithindairyherds,whileotherbeefcomesfromcalvesraisedinnon-dairyherds.
Researchersarguethe‘dairybeef’carriesa significantlylowercarbonfootprintbecausetheherdis effectivelygrowingtwoproducts– milkandbeef

• lowering the carbon footprintofboth.Thefollowingis a veryroughguideofthecarboncostoffood,usingthesamedata that Dr Graham Horgan at
  Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland and his colleagues are using in their algorithm.

THE CARBON COST OF FOOD

*Notincludingcarbonfootprintassociatedwithminoringredientsincludingherbsandspices

**Assuming the average 5-seater petrol car emits about 127g ofCO 2 per kilometre.

HIGH FOOTPRINT

BREAKFAST

Tworashersofbacon(0.6kgCO 2 e)

Twosmallsausages(0.4kgCO 2 e)

Twoeggs(0. 2kgCO 2 e)

Portionofbakedbeans(0.1kgCO 2 e)

Cup of tea with full-fat dairy milk(0.05kgCO 2 e)

LUNCH

Roastbeefsandwichwithtomato,lettuce and

mayonnaise(1.78kgCO 2 e)

Packetofcrisps(0.1kgCO 2 e)

Potofyoghurt(0. 2kgCO 2 e)

Can of fizzy drink (0.1kgCO 2 e)

DINNER

Portionofcod(0.9kgCO 2 e)

Portionofchips(0.1kgCO 2 e)

Portionofpeas(0.02kgCO 2 e)

Twoscoopsoficecream(0.4kgCO 2 e)

TOTAL:4.95kgCO 2 e

Overthecourseofa year,thisis thesameasa

petrolcartravellingroughly14,200km**

(London to Perth, Australia is 14,470km)

BREAKFAST

Porridgewithfull-fatdairymilk(0. 24kgCO 2 e)

Twoslicesofwholegraintoastwithbutter

(0.27kgCO 2 e)

Cup of tea with full-fat dairy milk(0.05kgCO 2 e)

LUNCH

Bakedpotatowithbutterandcheese(0.7 3kgCO 2 e)

Banana(0. 2 1kgCO 2 e)

Cup of coffee with full-fat dairy milk(0.09kgCO 2 e)

DINNER

Seafoodpastaina tomatosauce*(1.31kgCO 2 e)

Ricepudding(0.3kgCO 2 e)

TOTAL:3.2kgCO 2 e

Overthecourseofa year,thisis thesameasa petrol

cartravellingroughly9,197km**

(London to Quito, Ecuador is 9,214km)

BREAKFAST

Bowlofmuesliwithsoyamilk(0.13kgCO 2 e)

Glassoforangejuice(0.4kgCO 2 e)

Cup of blacktea (0.01kgCO 2 e)

LUNCH

Butternutsquashandcarrotsoup*(0.18kgCO 2 e)

Nutsanddriedfruit(0. 2 5kgCO 2 e)

Cup of black coffee (0.05kgCO 2 e)

DINNER

Portionofrice(0.36kgCO 2 e)

Portionoflentilandmushroomcurry*

(0.14kgCO 2 e)

Potofyoghurt(0. 2kgCO 2 e)

TOTAL:1.72kgCO 2 e

Overthecourseofa year,thisis thesameasa

petrolcartravellingroughly4,943km**

(London to Montreal, Canada is 5,200km)

MEDIUM FOOTPRINT LOW FOOTPRINT