Make Your Food Purchase a Little Greener (go on a low-carbon diet) April 24, 2008

I think that we can all agree that food is a pretty big part of our lives. Because food plays such a large role in our existence, it’s not hard to imagine that the production and transport of our food is a big contributor to our overall carbon footprint. Being a conscious shopper and consumer of food is a great way to lessen your impact on the globe. Here are a few things to consider the next time you are in the grocery store or eating out.

1. Transportation - Transporting the food that we eat is one of the biggest contributors to the food’s carbon cost. When thinking about the carbon cost of a food, it is important to take into account not only the distance that a food has traveled, but also how that food traveled. That is to say, it most likely takes far less fuel to ship French wine by sea to the east coast of the US than it does to ship the same amount of wine from California by land.

2. Ingredients - A product that uses many different ingredients will most likely be far more costly than a food that uses fewer ingredients. This is because in addition to the fuel it takes to gather and transport all of the ingredients to a central production site, it takes even more energy to put the ingredients together into the final product.

3. Energy – Consider the environmental cost of the food. For example, beef is a more costly source of protein than beans for several reasons. First of all, the beef accrues the carbon cost of the feed that it eats, while the beans get their energy from the best know renewable energy source, the sun. Secondly, beef has the negative environmental impact of its methane production, while beans have the positive impact of photosynthesis. Third, the production of beef has many more steps and by products than does the production of beans. Finally, the run-off from feedlots is far more harmful than any by-product of bean growth (so, if you eat less beef, you will also be helping the planet).

4. Size of operation – Generally speaking, food that is produced by smaller operations will have a smaller carbon cost than food that is produced in larger businesses. We will use the example of vegetable growth to illustrate this point. Larger operations will most likely use more large machinery in the growing and harvest process than will smaller operations and this means that larger operations will use more fuel. Larger operations are also more likely to use larger and more general applications of things like fertilizer and insecticides than will smaller operations. It is also important to think about the size of the provider. Large grocery store chains usually send all of their products to a central distribution site where it is stored and then redistributed to regional branches. Smaller groceries most likely do not have redistribution centers and this cuts out a leg of transportation, which ultimately saves fuel. In addition to added fuel costs, keeping produce cool and fresh while in storage uses energy and chemicals.

While it is true that no one factor is a good benchmark for judging a food’s greenness, using what information you know about a product, you can make informed choices that will help to decrease your carbon footprint. Generally speaking, food that travels a shorter distance, uses fewer total ingredients in its production, and is produced and/or provided by a small organization will be a good choice. If you want to get a rough idea of your food’s carbon footprint, check out this UK calculator. There are also plenty of ecological footprint calculators out there if you would like to determine your overall footprint.

An entirely different concept for business conferences April 18, 2008

There are so many business conferences being held every day around the world. They are a great way for people to network, share ideas, and educate themselves about the latest and greatest going on in their fields of interest. Generally attendees come away from the conferences feeling like they have met some amazing new people, learned valuable information that they can use to help their company or organization, and with lasting memories in tow. But what about the ecological impact of the conference?

I remember attending a conference about a year and a half ago and an announcement was made that one of the featured speakers and renowned professionals in the field was not going to be attending the conference because he stated that a conference on sustainability shouldn’t involve hundreds of people flying and driving in from all over the world to sit around and talk about sustainability. He was making a statement that he thought it was wrong to impose such a negative impact on our environment just to attend a conference. While one half of me found this somewhat admirable, the other half of me thought that it was a bit sad that we can’t find a way where people can come together to share ideas and thoughts and learn from one another without destroyed our natural world. There’s got to be such a thing as an ecologically correct conference, right????

If only a business conference could be like one of my favorite toys, the Buddha Board, we could all feel better about our participation in conferences. The Buddha Board is an artistic drawing board that uses water as its medium. Once you use the brush to create your artwork, it stays for just a few seconds before it fades away and you are left with a blank board once more. It is created under the principle that we should appreciate things while they last and then when they are gone, be OK with them being only temporary.

Now forget the way we think about typical business conferences today, and imagine a conference that is unlike any other conference you have been to before. Imagine that while you are at the conference you have the most meaningful and incredible experience of your life, but when it is over there is no trace of the conference other than the non-physical elements such as ideas, relationships, and memories. There was no waste, there was no pollution, there was no social inequity, and there was no negative impact to the environment. Of course it might be quite difficult to put together a conference such as this with the current restraints of our lifestyles, technologies, and social structures. But lets just assume it could be done and see where it takes us.

What if everyone coming to the conference had to walk or use some other form of human powered form of transportation to get to the conference? I would imagine that everyone who came to the conference would then have some pretty interesting stories to tell about their travels and would have a much better appreciation and sense of place about where they came from, where they arrived, and what was in between. We so often miss out on the details of the places we zoom by while we are in our cars or on airplanes.

What if the conference were held on a farm or other venue where the food being served was grown on site? This would eliminate the need for transporting the food from miles away, would help the conference attendees appreciate and connect more profoundly with their source of food, and would allow any leftovers to be kept for later meals.

What if the conference were held outdoors to eliminate the need for all that artificial lighting, heating, and cooling? We just eliminated all the energy impacts associated with a conference event. We are longer using fossil fuels to provide us with electricity, all we need is the sun to provide all our needs. Not to mention that the conference participants would continually feel the presence of the natural environment instead of being cooped up indoors all day.

What if part of the conference involved a restorative nature project where attendees created a positive net impact on the environment? This goes beyond just thinking of conferences as trying to have zero net impact on the environment. Why not go one step further and leave the area the conference was held in a better state? This would also give conference participants a hands on connection to the biology, and ecology of our planet.

How does all that sound? Would anybody be interested in this type of conference? I’m guessing yes!

Saving the World One Meal at a Time April 9, 2008

As spring approaches and the ground thaws, people around the country are starting to dust off the grills, put out the patio furniture, and some of us are starting to think about what delicious things will soon fill our summer gardens. For those of us that are not planning on having a produce aisle in a sunny section of the yard, the next best thing is the farmers’ market. Farmers markets are great for several reasons. First of all, the food found in the local market is often as fresh as it is going to get and fresh always tastes better. Secondly, supporting the local farmers’ market is always a good idea because it helps to support the local economy (only about 4 out of every 10 dollars spent at a chain store remains in the local community, versus 7 out of 10 for local businesses).

In addition to tasting great and being good for the community, farmers’ markets are good for the environment. Chances are that the food found at your local farmers’ market did not travel any great distances, which helps to keep carbon emissions down and your carbon footprint small (admittedly, there is still debate over the efficiencies of all local production, but efficiencies have been found to exist in many cases, though there may be exceptions). In addition, because producers in farmers markets are generally small operations, they are less likely to use large scale applications of fertilizer, insecticide and other chemicals, which is always an environmental plus. Not to mention that one of the great things about local farmers’ markets is that you get to eat what likes to grow in your area. This is a good thing because it means that a smaller amount of fertilizer and extra energy input was required to make the plant grow, which keeps the overall environmental cost of the plant low.

Now that we can all agree that farmers markets are great, we can all sit back this coming spring and summer and enjoy our locally grown dinners or lunches while saving our wallets and helping the world. There are farmers markets all over the country. Check out one near you. Happy eating!

1.