Carbon Emissions Labeling on Menus Can Help Reduce Diners’ Carbon Footprints
Source: https://www.ecowatch.com/food-carbon-emissions-menu-labeling.html
Author: Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
A 2020 international survey of 10,540 people across eight countries - Germany, Italy, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, the UK and the U.S. - commissioned by the Carbon Trust found that two-thirds were in favor of carbon labels. More than a third of the greenhouse gas emissions produced by humans comes from global food production, which means how we eat has a big impact on climate, repod BBC Future. Animal-based foods contribute 57 percent of the emissions, but only 20 percent of calories, while plant-based foods make up 29 percent of the total emissions. The UK’s Climate Change Committee has recommended that, in order to meet the UK’s climate targets, consumption of meat and dairy be reduced by 20 percent by 2030, and that meat consumption be cut by 35 percent by 2050. Mexican chain Wahaca was not a fan of the new requirement at first, but then took the extra menu labeling even further by adding carbon footprint information next to its dishes. “When the government stad telling us that we had to put calories on our menus, we thought it was a nice opportunity to start talking about carbon,” said co-founder of Wahaca Thomasina Miers, as BBC Future repod. “Food choices are political. If we begin to realise this and start voting with our mouths, then we have a lot of power as a consumer.”