Vegan Very Much

Nourish your brain & belly

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ABOUT US

Our story It began in a foreign country in Western Europe. It was the summer of 2018. We made a move and later, another decision that would change our lives f o r e v e r. The city was Berlin. The year was 2017, in the … Read more...

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$500 donation for Dara Farm Sanctuary!

Our long-time project finally came true! We managed to raise enough and make a donation … [Read More...]

Vegan Very Much 2022 recap

It was a quiet, yet busy time for the low-impact, vegan and environmentally friendly … [Read More...]

Community fundraiser: raising money for Dara Farm Sanctuary

We want to be here more for animals. One way we can do our part is to donate our time to … [Read More...]

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    • Meet Kerly
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  • 30/06/2025

21/01/2023 By Kerly Leave a Comment

$500 donation for Dara Farm Sanctuary!

Our long-time project finally came true! We managed to raise enough and make a donation to our favourite animal sanctuary – Dara Farm Sanctuary!

It sure took us a long time to make this little project come true, but now it is over. We definitely had no idea that raising money as just two private citizens would be so difficult. Also, we learned that selling stuff at a yard sale is not too much fun at all, especially if you are looking for people’s kindness in supporting a good cause and it is unbearably hot outside and no shade nearby! You can’t imagine when starting something like this, that the donations just appear.

It may look like we are complaining a lot, but no we are not! There are people like Terence, Karen, Ülle, Akilah, Barbara, Louise and countless customers and visitors, who took their moment and did a donation. No matter how big or small – in this case, every cent mattered. We managed to fulfill our goal of $500 and we were able to donate the money to Dara Farm Sanctuary. I know they appreciate this little donation, as the bills these two amazing guys have to pay, well, let’s just say, that we have no idea.

So here is the proof that your donated money was sent to the farm, as you can see on the attached screenshot with the donation sum. Woohoo! Thank you, thank you, thank you – you kind people who made this come true.

When you are reading these lines, Matthew already deposited our donation, so all is good. Sometimes good things take time, but their effect of them stays in your heart forever. Find some time and space in your heart to support your favourite organization. Doing good feels good! Make the world a better place!

16/12/2021 By Eve Leave a Comment

Community fundraiser: raising money for Dara Farm Sanctuary

We want to be here more for animals. One way we can do our part is to donate our time to the voiceless. Dara Farm Sanctuary fundraiser is here!

🎄🎄🎄Tis’ the season to give and so we are having a community fundraiser sidewalk sale this Saturday in Toronto. We are raising money for a lovely Dara Farm Sanctuary.

We have always done volunteering, whether for helping organize a community clothes swap or making sandwiches for those in need. So hence we are really excited to do another, a bit different kind of volunteering – a fundraiser.

What does it mean?

We have gathered a few boxes of stuff, that we no longer need. So what better way to raise money for an animal sanctuary than to try to sell these. We are very hopeful that many people can find treasures from our items, which they have been looking for 🙂

We are happy members of a multicultural neigbourhood of East York. So this is fun to organize it right here. Veganism is not a thing in our area for sure, but we hope compassion is. We are trying our best and hopefully, we will have customers visiting our small mini-sale this Saturday, December 18th from 11 AM to 1 PM supporting a noble cause. The items for sale will be laid out next to Quirks Pets, right on Torrens and Broadview Avenue.

What are we selling?

🎄
*Mini mirrors with frames by @ikeacanada 
*Various drawer organizers by @rubbermaid and @madesmart 
*Door hangers
*Perfumes by @lacoste, @boss, @marcopolo etc
*Bookends
*Electric incense burner, resins and wood for the burner, 
*Various households items such as an organizer, tp roll holder and a drying rack, eating utensils etc
*Some phone accessories
*Toiletries etc
ETC.


Come and see yourself! 

We will bake some goodies. Customers who spend more than $10 get a snack and a hot drink from us, and two if they spend more than $20. So we are giving people options, if they do not want to buy or need anything we are offering, they can still pitch in while purchasing a snack and a hot drink. First come, first serve!

🎄🎄🎄 Please come and say hi and support a good cause! Weather is not going to be the most fun, but let’s keep our fingers crossed for many happy visitors 🙂

Many thanks to Alison at Quirks Pets, who is closing her shop for good this Friday. She served many of our community’s pets for a long time! She will be missed.

18/11/2021 By Kerly Leave a Comment

We are still here, but mostly living in the kitchen!

After three and a half months of living on hiatus, it seems most suitable to break the long silence and share what we have been up to!

Dear you who you just stumbled to this small corner of our big world. Our website, where we mostly write about sustainable living, animals, and vegan food. Or you who you have been coming back and seeing no action here. Yes, we have been gone for a while, but not far at all. We just moved from our desks to the kitchen. The laptop was replaced with a stove.

One of our best items on the menu – vegan potato salad! Living as a vegan has never been so easy.

Cooking

Ever since we started our home-cooking vegan food business, which mostly concentrates on vegan snacks and dried fruit chips, we had literally no time for writing. That doesn’t mean that we are not coming back. We may, but only time knows. The situation on our Mother Earth is not getting any better, so there are really urgent articles to write. But as urgent it may be, we also need to support ourselves to make the ends meet. As for you, so for us, the current world order has introduced many life changes. So more than ever it is important that we follow our passion and make a living on what we know the best – vegan cooking.

Freedom

Cooking is not the only thing that matters a lot. We love freedom, we love liberty and animals. This is why we try more to fight for our rights. Not only of the human brothers and sisters but also non-human brothers and sisters. We want to do more for the voiceless, for those who are caged, who are trapped or abused daily. The fight for animal liberation will never end. This is in our blood and in our hearts. We love animals and there is no place for animal abuse in our world.

Go vegan

If you do love animals as well, please consider taking the steps in your life, where you harm them the most. The easiest is to become vegan. If you are not quite ready this year, then please start freshly on the new year. Veganuary is taking place every year. This is your chance to start with a change. If you stop eating animal products, you will notice soon that your dog or cat is not much different from a cow or a chicken. They both have a right to the best lives. Just one is keeping you company and making you happy. While the other is meant to keep far away from you and feed you. They all should be free and not serve us, especially not sacrificing their lives for our taste buds. Living cruelty-free is good for animals, good for the planet, and good for you.

We offer a variety of simple, but great-tasting vegan treats, such as sugar cookies.

Make a change

Choose a compassionate living and start with eating no animal-derived foods. We are here to help you. We can help you out with a consultation, we can cook for your Christmas meal and we can become your friends. Help us to help animals by ordering special items from our Vegan Very Much Shop. You can find some fundraising food items made only using plants. We will donate the 50% as promised to a lovely animal sanctuary called Dara Farm Sanctuary. They are a cruelty-free, vegan living organization run by two guys. We have some other great ideas, how we can support them in the near future. Keep checking back and remember all lives matter.

Yours,

Eve and Kerly

15/06/2021 By Kerly Leave a Comment

Vegan Very Much Shop is here with June fundraiser!

This is not our average post, but a short and quite sharp and straightforward announcement! Visit our shop while supporting our fundraiser!

We are so happy to announce that our Very Very Much Shop is finally open for business! To start it off in a special way, we are throwing a June Bake-Sale Fundraiser Since we are located in Toronto, Canada, this is the only city we are available to cater to at the moment.

For the longest time, we have been thinking of following two of our long-time passions: food and helping animals. No matter what personal challenges we face, there are always others worse off than ourselves and there is always something to be grateful for if we pay attention. There are many ways and opportunities to give back. We are used to volunteering our time and skills for the well-being of others.

Hence, for the month of June in celebration of our shop launch, we are selling simple and tasty vegan food and donating a large portion of the profit.

A loaf of a vegan banana bread on a cutting board made for the fundraiser
Delicious, moist and flavourful vegan banana bread

Why we are having this fundraiser?

  • promote veganism
  • donate money for animal causes
  • give our part of volunteering
  • to meet our neighbours

Where will my donation go?

For the month of June, 50% of the proceeds will go to a vegan-friendly charity! Want to help animal rights or support animal sanctuaries or help plant more trees? Order savoury carrot pie for yourself and your loved ones!

How it works?

Order on Mon/Tues/Wed by 6 pm and get your goodies delivered for free on Thursday! 

Orders on Thurs/Fri/Sat by 12pm and get your goodies delivered for free on Sunday!

**We currently ONLY deliver to Anywhere between Broadview, Danforth, O’Connor, and Donlands Avenues in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

via porch drop off 

or

we can deliver it right to you at your building.

Three pieces of a vegan carrot pie on a cutting board made for the fundraiser
Our newest addition to our baked goods – wonderful vegan savoury carrot pie

What is the suggested donation for a Pay What You Can slice? (per slice of carrot pie or banana bread)

$5 ($2.50 or half will be donated to charity!)

What is the price for a whole pie or bread? (fixed price)

$15 (6 decent pieces)

$20 (8 pieces)

Payment options: 

You can pay with cash during delivery or send an e-Transfer before delivery to info@veganverymuch.com Please use vegan as the security answer

Thank you for giving from your heart!

Please fill in the form below your desired product to order your goodies!

Want to support us? Visit our shop and purchase something tasty for yourself and your loved ones, while helping a charity! Visit the shop to find out more!

08/06/2021 By Kerly Leave a Comment

Vegan Very Much is having its 5th year Veganniversary!

Do you celebrate your vegan anniversary? Is this even a thing? Yes, it is! And it even does have its special name – veganniversary!

Interestingly enough the 5 years of being vegan kind of crept up to me last Sunday. I was just doing my usual evening computer work when I realized that the 6th of June marks the day when I/we became vegan. I let Eve know about this special discovery. Then I started looking for more information on how people celebrate it if at all. Apparently, this is a real thing and it has its own name: veganniversary! I found this beautiful website called Live Kindly and they had listed 11 Vegan Activities to Celebrate Your Veganniversary. I browsed the list and chose some activities we would like to participate in.

Just to give you few ideas you could easily enjoy on your veganniversary wherever you happen to be:

1. Make a Vegan Cake

2. Support a Vegan Business

3. Master Vegan Cuisine

4. Watch a Vegan Documentary

5. Treat Yo’ Self

+ as a bonus you can also throw a potluck party!

How we are going to celebrate our 5th year as vegans?

Since we are currently on our 10-day green smoothie cleanse (more about this in later posts), then we had to postpone the celebrations. Until the end of this week. LOL. Making a cake is a must, as we both love vegan sweets, but we are not going overboard consuming them. Some time ago we decided that we would only be supporting vegan businesses. Eating out is so overrated, especially if you are used to cooking food at home. Prices have gone really up and there is no need to support a business that is still participating in cruelty. We are definitely going to treat ourselves – chill at home, go for a walk and nibble something good. If we find a vegan documentary we already haven’t seen (except Earthling, which we can’t watch) then we will enjoy that activity as well.

Veganniversary morning with pancakes and fresh fruit is a perfect start for any vegans day.
Vegan pancakes are super easy to make, they look good and are so tasty!

Why you should celebrate veganniversary?

As with all things which are so-called out of the norm, need time and space. New information or practices are pushed aside, as they may be too extreme for people to understand. The same applies to people who do not eat meat. This is new and strange. I would love to think perhaps not so much on these days. But it is still not so widely accepted by omnivores who feel threatened by vegans.

So what we as vegans can do is to celebrate our special date when we become vegans. If you are just starting, then you can celebrate your first, second, and third, etc month of being vegan. Take pictures, share them on social media and try to normalize this ever so normal thing – not eating animals! Tell proud and loud that this is your veganniversary! The more exposure all kinds of vegan initiatives get, the more people accept, understand, and perhaps even want to go vegan themselves. We should not try to turn people vegan, but we can share the information and make them think about how much animals sacrifice to serve humans.

We hope that more people wake up and realize soon that animals are not our food. They are free beings who have a right to life, freedom, and care by their mothers. We are here to support them and help when they are in need. Other than that we do not need to eat stake, go to zoos, circus, buy leather items, spread honey on our bread and be almost vegans. Just find the compassion in your heart and put your taste buds aside.

This is what we are wishing on our special day – change of habits to many kind people!

*Pictured above is a cake we made using Loving it Vegans wonderful funfetti cake recipe. This is a very easy cake and ever so delicious. Can be made easily using oat flour, if you do not want to eat gluten. So perhaps this can be your veganniversary cake!

01/06/2021 By Kerly Leave a Comment

Going vegan – easy tips to help you get started

You have made a wonderful decision of going vegan. Good for you, we applaud your decision. But what’s next? Let us share some simple tips to help you!

Pat yourself on the shoulder for making that amazing decision. Summer is the easiest time to start your vegan journey. The new beginnings are sometimes hard and full of challenges. Let us direct you through the obstacles, which may arise. Please take a look at our short to-do list after making a decision when transitioning to a plant-based life. Please know that this list is in random order. You will find what is more important to you, so you can tackle that first. If you have anything else to add, please let us know, we would love to update this list.

Simple tips to follow to help your transition easier to vegan

*Start clearing your pantry, fridge, and freezer – read the labels and take all out which is not made of plants. But please do not trash the food. Look for donation options via community fridges, food banks, especially if you have lots of unopened products. If you have opened items and feel comfortable giving them away, please put everything in a box. Put it on the curb, or by recycling collection areas and your food will find a new home fast.

*Plan your meals – in the beginning, it may hard to find what to eat. That’s why you should have ideas for the first weeks. Find inspiration from Elephantastic Vegan.

*Tell your friends and family about your decision on going vegan – tell them your story. Add whatever you want to share with them, now when you are on your plant-based journey. Perhaps sharing this link from The Spruce Eats helps them to understand you better from the eating perspective.

*Educate yourself constantly – read more. Follow vegan news, check new recipes, visit vegan forums – the vegan community is there to help you.

*Meet other vegans – post on Instagram, follow fellow vegan websites, reach out in your neighbourhood groups – the people you meet there will always offer you support and help to answer your questions.

*Ask help from us – we are always here to help people transitioning to vegan and share personal tips on their righteous path.

Two wonderful vegan meals, a burger and fries.
Whoever told you that vegan food is boring, they were wrong. Look at this photo and you agree.

More to come, so keep your head up!

We will break these points to separate articles and help you find more information behind all these suggestions. So, please check back weekly to find more information.

It may not be easy in the beginning, but which beginning is easy ever? So stay true to yourself. Remind yourself of the reason for you going vegan. Think of the values, the lives of the animals in whose death you are not participating, and of what it means to you. We are creatures of habits, we can change if we want to, it takes time, but it can be done!

Welcome to the wonderful vegan family!

12/01/2021 By Kerly Leave a Comment

I want to be vegan for a month!

As luck has it January is known as Veganuary. Therefore it is very easy to try to be vegan for a month! Our three tips will help you!

So you have made a wonderful decision of wanting to try being vegan for a month. No matter how long you can hold on to it, your choice is very much worthy of applause. Even if you manage to be vegan just for one day, you will save 1,100 gallons of water, 45 pounds of grain, 30 sq ft of forest, 20 lbs CO2 equivalent, and one animal’s life. Isn’t that great?

But month being vegan does sound much nicer, eh? With the help of a wonderful vegan calculator at Vegancalculator.com, you can do some easy math. So during one month of being vegan, you would save the following:

The numbers speak to itself, right?

There is more than one reason to try going vegan for a month at least. Below are some things to keep in mind though when going vegan. These few tips will help you out during the most difficult few days and weeks.

What matters you the most?

Now think about why you want to be vegan for a month? Is it for the health, the animals or environment or some other reason? Though the most popular reasons are health and compassion for the animals, the others around you, especially meat-eaters can be threatened by that. As they think you are trying to be better than them. Or they will just do not get your sudden wish of loving animals of all kinds. The third reason why people go vegan is for the environment. This is half less popular than the previous answer. But this is actually the most acceptable cause for those who are not vegans. Environment affects us all, and making conscious choices about your eating habits, may actually make others also want to question theirs.  

Being vegan is connected to saving CO2, forests, and water. In a year a person who only eats plants will save:

  • 3,373 kilograms of CO2
  • 3,340 square meters of forest
  • 1,520,851 liters of water

Striking numbers, right?

Going vegan doesn't mean giving up your sweets - two very rich and creamy vegan cakes
Don’t worry you do not have to give up all your favourite creamy and fatty desserts – the vegan variety is awesome!

Eat more

When you do not consume animal products you leave out of your plate, you’re not eating so much. it is really important to replace the missing food items with others. Think of tofu, tempeh, beans, mushrooms, etc. Vegans tend to eat more, as the meals made of plants are less calorically intense. So you need to compensate for what you are missing. If you really love cheese, deli slices, and some other animal products, do not worry. There are a wonderful variety of all kinds of spreads, cheeses, and mock meat. Another good way how to eat properly is to google for vegan meal recipes. You will find a galore of breakfast, lunch, and dinner ideas.  Whole grains, legumes, and starches are your friends now. You need to consume more of these food items to obtain more energy!

Plan ahead!

It is very important to stay on track when just started with a vegan lifestyle. Our lives are oftentimes so busy that we do not have time enough to prepare our meals and snacks. That’s how we may grab a muesli-bar which has some milk powder in it or a pastry made of eggs and butter. Believe us, we know that there are not many vegan-friendly snack options always nearby. Be one step ahead and prepare a little snack bag. It may consist of nuts, seeds, dried fruits, and dark chocolate bits. Most of the potato chips are vegan and so are Oreo cookies. Let us recommend once again our favourite snack – peanut butter or peanuts and banana. Oh, they go together so well, giving you a sweet and salty, soft and crunchy experience. And this combo is oh so filling.

Conclusion

Starting with something or changing habits may not come overnight. If you started this journey because of health issues, you may see some changes overnight or you may have to wait for the results. Do not give up, just enjoy your path. The easiest is to cook food yourself and make your favourite homemade meals vegan. If you need help vegan websites and communities are there for you. Remember, plan a bit ahead, as every beginning is a bit bumpy. As an article we read about becoming vegan – it is a journey, not a race.

Perhaps now you want to be vegan longer than just a month.

Read more about our other article on Veganury here.

Helpful links:

Get help from this vegan starter kit at Veganuary.com

If you’re still not sure what to expect, read more by Maggie Kelly about her experience of going vegan for a month at Bodyandsoul.com

Statistics of the vegancalculator.com are listed here.

02/04/2020 By Eve Leave a Comment

Boost your immune system while social distancing

Probably by now, many people have done a fair share of staying home and practicing social-distancing. But how do you boost your immune system during these changing times?

It is a little known fact that humans (even introverts) need to have people around them to be well…human! We are not meant to be alone. Babies who are devastatingly starved of socialization do not develop healthfully. Prisoners in solitary confinement even for hours come out mentally changed from when they went in… We are not any different from them as during quarantine and social distancing times, we need to boost our immune systems to make it.

Based on a true story film that we just had the opportunity to watch, Just mercy, a wrongfully convicted Walter “Johnnie D” McMillian suffered life-long repercussions after solitary confinement and 6 years on death row, till he died long after his release. The human spirit needs positive socialization in order to support life. While our social-isolation during this global panic-attack is a far cry from what people on death row. (Did you know that at least 1 of 9 are wrongfully convicted due to poverty and race?) Endure, we still need to maintain or immune system to ward off illness and maintain hope that things will be OK.

Here are 5 ways to boost your immune system during these challenging times.

Eat whole foods to boost your immune system

While others scramble mostly for pasta, rice, canned food, and toilet paper…as a vegan, stock up on fresh fruits:

  • lemon,
  • orange,
  • kiwi,
  • kumquat,
  • berries,
  • banana,
  • apple, etc.

and vegetables:

  • carrot,
  • eggplant,
  • spinach,
  • tomato,
  • pepper,
  • cucumber
  • zucchini and other squashes etc.

You can cook, steam, bake, stirfry, and freeze them if needed. Ensure that you eat colourful fresh produce and limit refined starch that will surely add your waistline especially if you’re not active. Whole foods also include whole-grains, legumes, healthy fats like (extra-virgin olive oil, virgin coconut oil, avocados, nuts, and seeds. These foods contain vitamins and minerals such as the following:

Vitamin C

Vitamin c is the main vitamin that boosts the immune system.

Foods that contain vitamin c: orange, lemon, kumquats, sweet peppers

Vitamin B6

Foods that contain vitamin B6: Leafy greens, chickpeas)

Vitamin E

An antioxidant that fights off infections.

Foods that contain vitamin E: Spinach, nuts, and seeds.

A variety of fresh foods that help to boost your immune system.
Try to consume more fresh produce, the wider the variety, the better.

Limit stress and anxiety to boost your immune system

Stress weakens your immune system, so whenever you’re feeling stressed, ask yourself this: “Can I do something about this right now?” If so, make a plan on what you will do about it. If you answer no, then rub your hands together and shake it off your hands.

Stress ball of light practice

  1. Rub your hands together to create warmth and friction, then open them as wide as you want, to create an energy ball. Do you feel the energy between your hands?
  2. Imagine that your energy ball is made of golden-white light. Now, one by one put in everything that is stressing or worrying you in this energy ball. It can be a colourful ball of light if you want.
  3. Now, release the ball to the sky and let the universe or God or source take care of it, transmuting it into light energy.

Prioritize physical activity to boost your immune system

It is easy to become a couch potato or for some of us, to go on being one, but does this make you feel good? Probably not. While it is good during self-isolation to do nothing and return back to your human-beingness, rather than doing, it is also important to move your body. The energy that flows through your body needs ways to express itself, so exercise is an important way to do this. you can make it fun and follow along to a dance video online.

A friend of ours sent us a dance video which we have enjoyed and I even looked for more. Not only is it fun to dance (you don’t need to be good at it, just focus on getting the moves somewhat). The interesting thing is, when your attention is turned to dancing and how your body feels, you give your mind a break from all pointless thinking, therefore, relieving stress.

You can also go for a walk if your garden or backyard or in nature to walk your dog. Keep in mind that your state police might come looking for you…even if you are not near anyone…This should not last very long hopefully. David Icke’s son, Jamie Icke took his dog for a walk in the countryside and when he got back to his car, there was an office there who questioned him on what he was doing…clearly not about health but about power.

A dorm room door decorated with different computer components.
One way to get creative, while social-distancing. Let your imagination run wild!

Do something creative to boost your immune system

Not that we need expert advice on the obvious, but experts agree that creativity is healthy!!! Creating something out of nothing is a great feeling whether it’s cooking, art, a dance, a story, music. You don’t need to create the wheel, just do something your way or not. Something that gives you a finished product in the end. We are powerful beings on this earth to play with energy and create things. Our creations with the right intentions, fulfill ur spirit and the spirit of all.

I hope you are all doing well during this time. It’s important to do things that light a spark within you. Avoid the news because it is fear-based and will affect your immune system and well-being. Be hopeful that you don’t have to carry anything on your shoulders. Return to this list when you feel negative. It’s fine to allow yourself the space to feel everything without judgment, but don’t dwell there. Come out for some air or open the windows.

It’s darkest before the dawn and

a new day is on the horizon and

it’s bright!

References:

The Scientific Reasons Why Being Creative Can Make You Happier

23 Foods Experts Say Will Boost Your Immune System

3 Vitamins That Are Best for Boosting Your Immunity

13/02/2020 By Kerly Leave a Comment

Eating local food doesn’t matter – what you eat does!

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.

A graph showing that local food doesn't matter while considering your carbon footprint, but what food you are eating does.
Producing a kilogram of beef emits 60 kilograms of greenhouse gases. While peas emit just 1 kilogram per kg.

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!

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