WS2_Food_FANC_Kotakorpi

Climate on a Plate- CSO Action on Climate Friendly

Food

Elli Kotakorpi

Finnish Association for Nature Conservation

[email protected]

+ 358 40 825 4354

Elli Kotakorpi CSO Action on Climate Friendly food1

Content of the Presentation

1. Environmental impacts of food – where should we focus our efforts?

2. The actions taken by FANC

3. Lessons learned


Facts about Environmental Impacts of Food

• In Europe food causes 20-30 % of all environmental impacts of consumption (EIPRO study 2006)

• In Europe, food causes 10 percent of GHG emissions (NAMEA study 2006).

• In Finland, food causes ¼ of the GHG emissions of consumption (Mäenpää 2004).

• Food contributes to around 10 percent of total material use (NAMEA study 2006)

• Food is also a significant contributor to eutrophication (around 50 percent, EIPRO 2006)


Picture from Wikimedia commons

Key question: Animal based food or plant based protein?

• The production phase is the most important phase in relation to environmental impacts

– The production of meat and dairy products cause the most GHG emissions

– Here the consumer choice is the best way to decrease impacts

• Packaging and food miles are less important

– Swedish Association for Nature Conservation compared the GHG emissions of a tomato grown in a greenhouse in Sweden and a tomato grown in Spain and transported to Sweden the Spanish tomato emits less GHG emissions


Sources: EIPRO 2006, Foodchain-study (https://portal.mtt.fi/portal/page/portal/www/Hankkeet/Foodchain), EEA 2005, Swedish Association for Nature Conservation (http://www.naturskyddsforeningen.se) Pictures from Wikimedia commons

Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Food


source: Institute for applied ecology www.oeko.de

The Resource Efficiency of Foodstuffs


Elli Kotakorpi CSO Action on Climate Friendly food7www.foodwatch.de

Other issues in addition to meat consumption

• Decreasing the amount of food waste– In Finland 10 percent of purchased food ends

up in the landfill (Statistics Finland 2008)– Decomposing food waste causes methane

• When comparing rice, pasta and potato, rice is by far the largest emitter of GHG– Rice cultivation causes substantial methane

emissions





3. Lessons learned


Climate on a plate -magazine

• FANC has been actively campaigning for climate friendly food since 2008

• “Climate on a plate” –magazine– Summarizes the current knowledge

on climate impacts of food– Articles, Recipes, interviews,

columns..

– Was first published as a part of a Finnish magazine Voima


Networking with other CSOs

• Hyvän ruoan verkosto (Good Food Network)

• Campaigning for sustainable food

• Arranges seminars and discussion events

• Thesis for good food• Lobbying for climate

friendly food in municipalities


FIN-MIPS Household -project

• FIN-MIPS Household project from 2006 – 2008

• One of the sub reports focused on the resource efficiency of Finnish food

• The food report is only in Finnish but the English version of the final report can be downloaded from http://www.ymparisto.fi/default.asp?contentid=316115&lan=en





3. Lessons learned


Lessons learned• Huge publicity of the FIN-MIPS Household project and the interest

in the food results showed that the issue is very topical• The climate impacts of food are becoming more well-known• Notion of negative health impacts of vegetarian food is still

persistent in some circles• More awareness raising is needed on what are the most important

aspects in the area of food and drink• But awareness raising is not enough more campaigning for e.g.

financial instruments is needed (e.g. differentiation of VAT according to climate impacts)

• A black-and-white confrontation between meat eating and vegetarianism is not fruitful. CSOs shouldn’t concentrate on trying to make people vegans or vegetarians. One vegetarian day per week is a good start!


Thank you!

Elli Kotakorpi

[email protected]

+358 40 825 4354


Most advances can be made by influencing the consumer choice

• Which product to buy (e.g. meat or soy)?• How it has been produced (organically or conventionally)?• Where it has been produced (in the region or in the other

side of the world)?• What kind of package does it have?• Using a plastic bag or own shopping bag?


Pictures from Wikimedia commons

Technology

WS2_Food_FANC_Kotakorpi