If you want to be more environmentally friendly, then you should eat local food. We all know that, right? But how wrong we have been believing that!

I love the many ways of awakening. I read and learn and think that now I know something. Then some new information comes along and it opens my eyes. Again. Wider. I am so excited about the recent discovery of food. Sharing is caring, so let us tell you the latest news about local food.

Local food is good! Or is it?

I guess by now there is not a single person, who doesn’t know that eating local food is better for the environment. After all, we are more aware of what is happening in the world. Especially what is the situation in nature. The very precious thing we keep destroying because of our needs, wants, and habits. We all need to eat, we all want to enjoy the good food, right? Not thinking much of from where the food is traveling to our plates or how it is made.

Somebody once told that eating local food is better for the environment. We all have been believing it, preaching it and sharing our valuable knowledge. Guess what, we have all been wrong. New data is out and it is eye-opening:

Greenhouse gas emissions from transportation make up a very small amount of the emissions from food and what you eat is far more important than where your food traveled from.

Why we have been thinking that local food is better for the planet? Because when food is produced elsewhere and transported to where we are, it has been creating those nasty emissions. Logically thinking, the furthest the food is traveling from, the more destroying it is for our climate. Yes, transport does lead to emissions, but it is insignificant compared to the amounts that food production does. For most food products, transport accounts for less than 10%, and it’s much smaller for the largest GHG emitters.

It is important to state that not just transport, but all processes in the supply chain after the food left the farm – processing, transport, retail, and packaging – mostly account for a small share of emissions. (Look at the graph below)

Blame the food production instead

But many people may not be aware that food production is actually very exhausting for the planet. As a matter of fact, one-quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) are created because of it. This is a frightening number, which definitely shines new light for our knowledge of planet conservation so far.

Different foods need different stages to be produced. Which means that each stage has its own emissions originate. Different stages are:

• Land use
• Farm
• Animal feed
• Processing
• Transport
• Retail
• Packaging

Depending on a food product the above-mentioned stages are bigger or smaller on creating GHG emissions.

The following graph shows you the data from the largest meta-analysis of global food systems to date, published in Science by Joseph Poore and Thomas Nemecek (2018). In this study, the authors looked at data across more than 38,000 commercial farms in 119 countries.

What you are looking at is the total of GHG emissions per kilogram of food products. CO₂ is the most important GHG, but not the only one. Food production in agriculture is a large source of greenhouse gases methane and nitrous oxide. Think of cows eating constantly, their burps and also the constant pooing.

Transport does matter – when foods travel by air

How often you think of how far the food traveled to the store? I have been thinking of that when looking at goji berries or seeing those beautiful Instagram avocado photos. I tend not to consume food, which has traveled for long, if except cocoa powder. This is the main ingredient for our staple food – dark chocolate. If you looked at the graph above, then, unfortunately, we have contributed a lot to the GHG because of our eating habits.

Before reading the article, which inspired me to write this post, I also thought that a lot of food is transported by air. Luckily only very little food is air-freighted. It accounts for only 0.16% of food traveled in miles. This is great, but unfortunately, those few products which still need to be air-freighted, create high emissions.

To limit your carbon footprint, it should be advised to avoid the small share of foods that are air-freighted. It is very difficult to know, which have taken a plane to wherever you’re living. Especially if the labels are not giving enough information.

The key element to know is those foods tend to be highly perishable. This means they need to be eaten soon after they’ve been harvested. Transporting them by boat would take too long. That is why the perishables are most of the time air-freighted. For example asparagus, green beans and berries are common air-freighted goods.

Next time when buying foods, which seem had arrived from far-away. Look for a country of origin and then think of the freshness of the product. These help you to figure out a bit where the food is coming from.

Save the planet, become vegan!

Yes, we are back at it again – it is better for the planet to be vegan. Animal-based foods tend to have a higher footprint than plant-based. Quit that lamb and cheese-eating. Both emit more than 20 kg CO₂-equivalents per kilogram. Poultry and pork have lower footprints but are still higher than most plant-based foods, at 6 and 7 kg CO₂-equivalents, respectively.

The largest GHG emissions, for most foods, resulting from land use and the farm stage. The latter is responsible for applying fertilizers, organic and synthetic, and also enteric fermentation (the production of methane in the stomachs of cattle). If to combine these two, then land use and farm-stage emissions account for more than 80% of the footprint for most foods.

So what can you do to be more aware of your eating habits and food choices? As what you eat has a significant impact on our carbon “footprint”. If you want to reduce it, avoid air-freighted foods where you can. But more than this, you should focus on what you eat, rather than eating local. Eating no animal products while switching to plant-based alternatives will reduce your footprint by much more.

I survived! I wrote this article during the last hour of my 20 hours fast after almost two weeks. Wow! Thank you for making it to the end. Hug yourself and be smart while consuming food. Think about fasting, as well, as this will make you appreciate your food even more!