BBC Focus - 04.2020_

byC O L I N
BARRAS
Colinis a freelance
sciencewriterand
editor,basednear Ann
ILLUSTR ATION: PAUL BUT T Arbor,Michigan.

CARBON-FREE DIET FE ATURE

of smoking. With more awareness about the time and energy

that goes into producing food, we might be more willing to turn

stale bread into breadcrumbs, or overripe bananas into banana

muffins. Or we might simply become better at purchasing

just the food we need, rather than bulk-buying products and

throwing food away.

Scarborough agrees that attitudinal shifts to food are possible.

“People assume food habits are stuck for life, that people

don’t change – but it’s absolutely not true,” he explains. “If

you look at the food we consume now versus 60 years ago it’s

very different.”

Consumers should be able to adopt lower-meat diets and waste

less food, not least because this is what most British people

have done for centuries. So if we can make those changes, will

it bring the zero-carbon diet into view? In one sense, the answer

is a firm no: we will always need to use

energy to produce even the most frugal of

diets. But eventually it may be possible to

offset most – or even all – of the emissions

associated with our food, particularly if

more of us reduce our meat consumption.

This is partly because with less demand

for pasture it will be possible to ‘rewild’

agricultural land, and an acre of forest can

absorb far more carbon than an acre of

pasture. No one has run the numbers, but

it’s an intriguing idea, says Scarborough.

“The question of whether the food system

as a whole can be zero-carbon over the

long run? That’s an interesting one.”

33kg

driving

137km

heating

a home

for

5 days

or

Tofu

(100g)

115kg

driving

476km

heating

a home

for

18 days

or

Eggs

(2)

284kg

driving

1,168km

heating

a home

for

45 days

or

Chicken

(1 breast)

390kg

driving

1,603km

heating

a home

for

61 days

or

Fish

(1 fillet)

375kg

driving

1,540km

heating

a home

for

59 days

or

Pork

(75g)

1,611kg

driving

6,618km

heating

a home

for

255 days

or

Beef

(75g)

29kg

driving

120km

heating

a home

for

4 days

or

Almond milk

(200ml)

40kg

driving

167km

heating

a home

for

6 days

or

Soy milk

(200ml)

131kg

driving

538km

heating

a home

for

20 days

or

Cow’s milk

(200ml)

Proteins Dairy