Do you know how much carbon is hidden in your food cupboard? While low-energy cooking methods have been enjoying the spotlight – with thanks to the trusty air fryer – eco-friendly foodies can take their energy efficiency and green gastronomy goals a step further by examining the carbon footprint of the foods they eat.
From cutting emissions to slicing food waste, B-corp certified meal delivery service Gousto is all about putting Mother Earth first. So Gousto chef Sophie Nahmad is taking a closer look at the secret ingredients which are low on carbon and big on feel-good flavour for the perfect planet-friendly plateful, and Head of Sustainability Hugh Lewis explains how so much carbon can become embedded in what we eat.
So… How can you reduce the carbon footprint of your diet?
Reduce your meat and dairy consumption
Sophie says: “Cutting down on meat and dairy consumption is a sure-fire way to make your diet more sustainable, but that doesn’t mean having vegan meals is the only sustainable way to eat. If you cook beef three to five days in a week, trimming that back to one or two times a week would reduce your carbon footprint by over 1000kgs of CO2 emissions*; that’s as much as the energy you’d use to heat your home for 130 days!
Make eco-friendly swaps
“If you want to make a bigger impact, swapping your beef intake altogether for white meats like chicken can reduce your associated carbon footprint by more than eight times* without needing to go completely meat-free. Alternatively, tofu is a vegan protein source that has a significantly lower carbon footprint than meat.
Shop locally for what’s in season
“Equally, have a think about where your food comes from. Many foodstuffs now tell you where their produce came from, so you can get a sense of the food miles that come with it.
“If you have strawberries grown in England and America, choosing the English strawberries can lower your food miles – but if you’re buying English strawberries in Winter, they’re more likely to have been grown in a heated greenhouse, creating emissions which can counteract the reduced carbon created in transport.
“It’s a balancing act, but buying local produce when it’s in season, and thinking more intentionally about when and where your food is grown can help you manage your carbon footprint.
Think about how you transport your food
“The only part of how much energy is in the food chain that you’re in full control of, is how you get your food to your home. If you’re driving in a car to do your weekly food shop rather than walking, cycling, or using public transport, your own fuel emissions are inflating the carbon cost of your food.
“A food subscription can cut out the fuel-guzzling trips to and from a supermarket. If everyone in the UK got one recipe box delivered to their door every week instead of driving to the supermarket, it could save 10.3 million tonnes of CO2 each year!”
Get a recipe box!
“Why not cut out the stress as well as the carbon from your food shop and let someone else take care of it all? At Gousto we produce 23% less carbon emissions than supermarkets. We achieve this through a number of means, from cutting food waste to having a more efficient and shorter supply chain.
“Because we deliver to door, we have fewer vans producing emissions on the road, and we’re committing to sourcing all our fresh meat from Britain to cut down on air miles. Our commitments to reducing our impact on the environment means we can do heavy lifting for you, so you can enjoy all the benefits of an eco-friendly diet.”
The ultimate low carbon shopping list:
- Protein: tofu and eggs, beans
- Carbs: pasta, oats, bread, potatoes
- Fruit and vegetables: apples, citrus fruit, peas (but seasonal and locally grown is best!)
What is the carbon footprint of food?
“A carbon footprint counts the greenhouse gas emissions of every process involved in creating and disposing of something across its whole life,” says Hugh Lewis, Head of Sustainability at Gousto. “For food, the carbon footprint includes any emissions created across land use, farming, animal feed, processing, transport and sale, and even what packaging it comes in.
“Because every ingredient has different needs across these points in their life, carbon footprint can vary hugely from one foodstuff to the next. Green gastronomers who understand these differences can get creative with their ingredients, and create the ultimate lower carbon feast.
What impacts the carbon footprint of food?
“There are many aspects of food growing and rearing that we everyday home cooks can’t control, but if we know where the hotspots are for certain foods, we can adjust our food choices to reduce their impact.
“Animal products for example need much more land and farming infrastructure than crops. Because of this, research from Our World in Data in 2020 found that carbon emissions from most plant-based products were as much as 10 to 50 times lower than most animal-based products! Red meat especially, like beef and lamb, create half of all emissions coming from farmed animals.
“Transportation is also a big factor in energy consumption. Most of the beef we eat in the UK comes from overseas, so it has to be transported by air or sea to get to your local supermarket. These ‘food miles’ can pile up and make the carbon footprint of foods sourced from abroad even higher.”
3 sustainable recipes to help you master Green Gastronomy
Fancy turning your hand to the world of green gastronomy? Here are some of Sophie’s favourite recipes to put those sustainably scrumptious low carbon ingredients to work
