Food’s climate impact accumulates throughout its life cycle: in primary production, farming, food processing, grocery stores, restaurants, transportation, shopping trips, cooking, preserving and waste. Usually primary production contributes more than 50% of total emissions, and often requires the longest time in the food production cycle. The next biggest contributors are preserving and food processing.

Estimations of the food industry’s global greenhouse gas emissions vis-á-vis people-driven emissions in total vary sometimes drastically depending on the calculation methodologies used. For example, the Finnish agriculture sector’s reported emissions account for approximately 7%; however, when emissions from energy use and agricultural soil are included it corresponds to about 18% of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions. A substantial amount of agricultural emissions are produced in industrial animal farming in the form of animal digestion, manure decay and grain grown for animal feed.

The contribution of different food life cycle phases to the carbon footprint varies from product to product. For example, most of the carbon emissions of home-shredded carrots are produced in the farm, whereas the emissions of frozen strawberries come mainly from preservation. The form of transport used can also increase the carbon footprint of a single product considerably, especially when a single-purpose shopping trip is done by car.

Emissions in all links of the supply chain can be decreased by the appropriate means for each sector, such as adopting farming practices based on carbon sequestration, investing in improvements in energy efficiency of cold chain and other equipment, planning logistical chains and promoting consumer education.

It is essential that the food industry’s raw materials and waste are recycled back into the production of living matter. The goal is a closed loop, meaning a continuous circular movement, where nutrients used in agriculture would cycle from field to table and via food waste bins and sewage treatment plants back to the field. Such a system would help prevent nutrients from escaping into the natural environment.

Food production and consumption accelerate climate change to a greater or lesser degree. As well, climate change affects food production in various ways, mainly by posing a threat to our food safety. In many countries, climate change presents challenges in fresh water availability and controlling crop pests and invasive weeds. These factors threaten to destabilize global food availability and world market prices.

Most of the food industry’s climate emissions are produced in the primary production phase; in the field, greenhouse and byre. Contributing factors include cultivation practices, fertilizers, cultivated varieties and the growing season. A good starting point for sustainable healthy eating is to choose seasonal, locally grown and organic vegetables.

Local food has lately become trendy and it carries many positive associations. However, sustainability of local food depends on how it has grown. Transportation emissions contribute only a few percentage points to food’s total carbon footprint. Many equate local food to “green” and social sustainability. Often small family farms are more sustainable than bigger industrial production units.

The most widely known sustainable production method is organic farming based on the recycling of renewable natural resources and the use of local renewable resources. According to estimations, increasing organic farming would reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but the debate is still on about the climate impact of certain organic crops and animal species.

In general, greenhouse emissions of organic farming are smaller compared to conventional farming for two reasons: through specific agricultural practices, atmospheric carbon dioxide can be captured in soil, in the same way seas and forests store carbon. Methods that enhance carbon sequestration in soil include crop rotation. It is a practice of growing a series of dissimilar or different types of crops in the same area in sequenced seasons. It includes nitrogen-fixing crops that help to capture nitrogen from the atmosphere. Carbon sequestration is also practiced by no-dig gardening and enriching soil with compost, unlike in conventional farming. Nitrogen fertilizers are not being used in organic farming, thus eliminating the greenhouse gases associated with the manufacture of inorganic fertilizers.

In cold climates, sustainable food shopping is often a balancing act between local and ecological. The rule of thumb is that seasonal vegetables are always the most eco-friendly choice. When consumers in cold countries prefer hearty local root vegetables and cabbage with a long shelf life combined with exported open-field farmed fruits and vegetables, it also benefits local food producers in the long run. When there is demand for seasonal food, farmers can sell products when they are at their best and farming would require less energy and resources.

Seasonal food is ecological, because open-field farmed vegetables of the season impose a much smaller environmental burden than conventionally grown products. Also wild herbs, berries and mushrooms are perfect seasonal ingredients.

Greenhouse vegetables’ carbon footprint can even be twice that of open-field grown vegetables. Greenhouse energy consumption depends on the season, heating and lighting, but emissions are always higher than in seasonal open-field farming.

Sustainable eating is often associated with high food price. But is sustainable food more expensive than that conventionally grown and if so, why? Non-seasonal vegetables are usually more expensive since production takes a great deal of extra energy, so choosing seasonal products is also financially sensible. All in all, food price formation is a complex web of many factors, such as production costs, producer prices and gross profit. These are also closely tied to ethical questions and consumer values well worth reflecting upon once in a while.

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Greenhouse gas emissions from food vary greatly. On average, vegetables have much lower emission levels than animal-based products. One kilogram of beef has multiple emissions compared to emissions from berries, vegetables, beans and potatoes. According to current methods of calculating emissions, even pork and poultry are considerably more eco-friendly than beef.

Worldwide meat consumption has nearly doubled since the year 1960 and ever-bigger portions are being consumed. In addition, dairy consumption has increased, but not as steeply. Carbon emissions from cheese can be nearly as high as from beef. In order to keep agricultural emissions at bay, we need to reduce our current meat consumption over 50% from an average 200 grams per day.

Today, people consume excessive protein and daily intake could easily come from smaller amounts of meats or plant-based protein. Many plants are packed with protein, so animal protein is easy to replace with various types of beans (for example, broad beans, black beans, soybeans), peas, lentils, nuts, seeds and wholegrains. These can also be used to make various types of processed products, such as seitan made from wheat gluten and soy in its dozens of forms. Adopting a plant-based diet is good for our pockets and helps to prevent many health issues, such as heart diseases, obesity and some cancers.

As far as climate and health is concerned, adopting a plant-based diet is simply a sensible choice, but it is not the simple solution to sustainability. Naturally, animal farming raises many ethical questions. For instance, in South America meat production is a major threat to ecosystems and forests serving as carbon sinks. Also soybean production in the Amazon is linked to deforestation, and the crop is generally used in animal feed. However, in many countries a decrease in livestock grazing and cattle raised indoors has impoverished biodiversity. From a Nordic food security perspective, it is significant that grass grown for cows is also growing in areas where crops cannot be grown for humans.

Peter O’Connor aka anemoneprojectors