When I start to properly look around our world today, I suddenly realise how surprised I am at things which I took for granted or that just passed me by. Maybe you will too. Tell me what you think!
I didn’t know until just now that someone has already calculated the carbon footprint of each item of food. Did you know that? What a nightmare job. Obviously there would be exceptions to the figures, such as the obsessed consumer who travels 100km to get their organic carrots or the beef farmer who manages to contain all their cows in a magic greenhouse that doesn’t ever let CO2 emissions escape into the environment. However, let’s say all is equal, and that the statistics represent general lifestyles. This then gives some interesting results.
Did you know that:
| Food (100g) | Carbon footprint equivalent | Driving a car (km) equivalent |
| beef | 15,5kg CO2e | 78.7km |
| cheese | 2.79kg CO2e | 14.2km |
| dark chocolate bar | 0.95kg CO2e | 4.8km |
| carrot | 0.04kg CO2e | 0.2km |
(reference https://www.co2everything.com/co2e-of/root-vegetables-carrot-etc)
First thought is, oo-er.
Second thought was, “thank goodness chocolate isn’t too bad”.
Third thought, chocolate-coated carrots anyone?
Lastly, okay, I can now see the issue which environmentalists have with beef and other products high up on the list, and how removing them from our kitchens could be effective in helping us to live more sustainably on our planet. However, how can we deal with the social and financial changes involved? And how quickly do these plans have to be implemented? Chocolate-coated root veggies are starting to look like a trend waiting to happen…
MidLife Crisis In France
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