What did you eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner yesterday?
Take this short quiz to find out how much your choices contribute to climate change. Then, tell us: How did you score? How do your eating habits compare with those of other Americans?
In “Your Questions About Food and Climate Change, Answered,” Julia Moskin, Brad Plumer, Rebecca Lieberman and Eden Weingart answer questions about the impact that food shopping, cooking and eating habits have on climate change:
Does what I eat have an effect on climate change?
Yes. The world’s food system is responsible for about one-quarter of the planet-warming greenhouse gases that humans generate each year. That includes raising and harvesting all the plants, animals and animal products we eat — beef, chicken, fish, milk, lentils, kale, corn and more — as well as processing, packaging and shipping food to markets all over the world. If you eat food, you’re part of this system.
How exactly does food contribute to global warming?
Lots of ways. Here are four of the biggest: When forests are cleared to make room for farms and livestock — this happens on a daily basis in some parts of the world — large stores of carbon are released into the atmosphere, which heats up the planet. When cows, sheep and goats digest their food, they burp up methane, another potent greenhouse gas contributing to climate change. Animal manure and rice paddies are also big methane sources. Finally, fossil fuels are used to operate farm machinery, make fertilizer and ship food around the globe, all of which generate emissions.
Which foods have the largest impact?
Meat and dairy, particularly from cows, have an outsize impact, with livestock accounting for around 14.5 percent of the world’s greenhouse gases each year. That’s roughly the same amount as the emissions from all the cars, trucks, airplanes and ships combined in the world today.
In general, beef and lamb have the biggest climate footprint per gram of protein, while plant-based foods tend to have the smallest impact. Pork and chicken are somewhere in the middle.
Is there a simple food choice I can make that would reduce my climate footprint?
Consuming less red meat and dairy will typically have the biggest impact for most people in wealthy countries. That doesn’t necessarily mean going vegan. You might just eat less of the foods with the biggest climate footprints, like beef, lamb and cheese. If you’re looking for substitutes, pork, chicken, eggs and mollusks have a smaller footprint. But plant-based foods like beans, pulses, grains and soy tend to be the most climate-friendly options of all.
How much would changing my diet actually help?
It varies from person to person. But a number of studies have concluded that people who currently eat a meat-heavy diet — including much of the population of the United States and Europe — could shrink their food-related footprint by one-third or more by moving to a vegetarian diet. Giving up dairy would reduce those emissions even further.
If you don’t want to go that far, there are still ways to shrink your individual footprint. Just eating less meat and dairy, and more plants, can reduce emissions. Cutting back on red meat in particular can make a surprisingly large difference: According to a World Resources Institute analysis, if the average American replaced a third of the beef he or she eats with pork, poultry or legumes, his or her food-related emissions would still fall by around 13 percent.
Students, read the rest of the green “Big Picture” section of the article, then tell us:
— What were the most interesting or surprising facts about climate change and food you learned? What questions do you still have?
— How climate-friendly is your diet? Do you tend to eat a lot of meat and dairy? Or do your meals mostly consist of plant-based foods? How do you feel about the impact your eating habits have on the environment?
— Why do you choose to eat the way you do? Do your parents do most of the meal planning, food shopping and cooking? Do you make any personal choices based on moral, religious, environmental or health reasons? Or, do you just simply eat what tastes good?
— After the “Big Picture” introduction, the article goes on to detail five specific areas that contribute to climate change: Meat, Seafood, Dairy, Plants, and Shopping and Food Waste. Choose one and read the related section. What did you learn about this topic? If you were to alter your diet in this area to make it more environmentally-friendly, what changes would you have to make? How difficult would these changes be for you and why?
— Now that you know more about the impact your eating habits have on the environment, would you actually be willing to change any of them to reduce your carbon footprint? If so, what specific changes would you make and why? If not, why not?
Students 13 and older are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.
