Human production of food accounts for around 25 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Food accounts for a large portion of our climate impact, and if everyone on earth live as the lifestyle in the wealthy parts of the world, we would need 4.2 planets. But you can actually reduce the climate impact of food by eating more climate-smart.
1. Nutrition boost with the sea salad
Kelp is a great alternative to cabbage. The increased popularity of vegetables has taken the step further out to sea and made algae and seagrass the newest new in health food. And rightfully so. The sea vegetables are naturally packed with nutrients, grown without fossil fuel-consuming chemicals and without consuming the freshwater reserve. They are cleansing and strengthening for the body and are available both as powders to mix in drinks and smoothies and as freeze-dried ready to be soaked in water baths. Few raw materials are equally environmentally smart and packed with goods.
Check out the sushi shelf in your most well-stocked grocery store and bunk up with spirulina, chlorella, kelp, wakame, hijki and nori. To mention a few.
2. Choose herbal Omega-3
Climate impact Omega-3 fatty acids have long been produced from fish that are increasingly threatened with extinction due to overfishing. Man’s need for health-promoting fatty acids is thus placed in conflict with nature’s. But you can get into Omega-3 and Omega-6 for example through the super crop hemp.
Hemp is one of the oldest and hardest cultural plants, with an ability to grow on nutrient-poor soils in most climate zones, and at altitudes up to 3,000 meters above sea level. Hemp seeds contain the fatty acids omega-6 and omega-3 in 3: 1 proportions.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recognized hemp as a food with optimal balance between these essential fatty acids. This makes it a very good source for getting omega-3 and omega-6, both of which are anti-inflammatory and help prevent, for example, heart problems. Hemp is also a good source of vitamins, minerals and protein.
3. Eat less meat and choose ethical and eco when you do
By reducing your meat consumption and selecting meat produced in so-called regenerative agriculture, ie on ecological cycles, it is possible to stop global warming to below 2 degrees, save the oceans and get the food to the whole world.
During the 2015 Paris meeting, more than 50 countries and organizations signed the French government’s initiative: “4 Per 1000 Initiative, Soils for Food Security and Climate”.
In summary, the initiative is about reversing the ongoing trend and increasing, instead of reducing now, the global supply of organically bound carbon in the cultivation land. Choline storage in soil is central to how the world handles climate change.
A restructuring of agriculture and a sharp reduction in meat consumption means that nitrogen leakage would decrease. At the same time, the need for land area for food production would be halved from today’s area of 4000 square meters to about 2000 square meters per person.
4. Only buy MSC-labeled fish
The utilization of fish by the resources of the sea has increased dramatically. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), seven times as much fish are fished today compared to 1950. This utilization of ocean resources is not sustainable, and the world’s oceans are currently heavily polluted and very depleted. According to researchers, overfishing is our second biggest sustainability risk after climate change. If fish stocks were managed better, ecosystems would be in better balance. This would mean that the world’s fish production had the opportunity to increase by about 10 million tonnes.
The MSC, the Marine Stewardship Council, works with the fishing industry around the world to solve the problem of overfishing, help keep our oceans prosperous and ensure there is enough fish for future generations. We should not stop eating fish, but we must ensure that the fish we buy has been sustainably caught by fishermen who help protect our seas.
When selling seafood with the MSC label, all companies in the supply chain – from professional fishing to final sale to consumers – must be certified to the MSC traceability standard.
5. Support transparent brands
Today’s consumers live in an information society and are no longer content with not knowing everything about the products to buy. As a result of this development, many companies have realized the importance of being transparent to their customers and using transparent pricing and more in-depth product information.
As we become increasingly aware of the environmental impact of production and consumption, sustainability has become a hot topic in retail. Companies are becoming more generous with the information about where the ingredients in the products come from and where they are manufactured. In this way, consumers can decide whether they want to buy from the companies based on where the products come from and the companies must, in turn, become better at actually finding out for themselves.
Some food producers climate declares its food. For example, it is known that the climate impact per kilo of pancake corresponds to 1.4 kilograms of carbon dioxide. Most of the climate impact usually comes from the raw materials, but they look at all parts of the chain until the finished product: transport, production and packaging.
So support transparent brands, for yours and the climate.
6. Promote super-local growers
Indoor cultivation can take place anywhere and makes it possible to access even more local crops than cultivated. It is climate-resistant, regardless of the weather and no pesticides are needed to still get large crops on a small area.
7. Save the food with an app
According to the UN, today we produce enough food globally to feed nine billion people. Even though we are just over seven billion on earth, one billion people are still hungry. Food waste is a major concern, both for the global economy and the environment. A lot of food is already being thrown in grocery stores and restaurants before it even reaches consumers. This has given rise to a number of new services to save food from being thrown away.
New apps allow users to buy food that would otherwise have been discarded.
Some apps allow you to put up food you can’t eat yourself and make it available to anyone who can.
8. Donate a lunch box
Giving help organizations food is great idea. There are help organizations that help children living in poverty and the families of children who are on their way into poverty. The organizations can capture the families who need short-term help to cope with a difficult situation and break something that could eventually become permanent poverty.
Some of these organizations allow you to donate a food bag, become a monthly donor or sign up for the organization’s donor register. As a donor, you give away food, clothing or other supplies to a needy family in their immediate area. The goods are personally delivered to the recipient.
9. Try plant-based milk products
From a climate and resource point of view, vegan milk wins big. Cows consume large quantities of feed grain, water and energy to produce their milk. Making “milk” directly from cereals therefore saves a lot of resources.
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