Transcript Sustainability And The American Diet

Sustainability
And The American
Diet
Michelle Parenti, MS, RD, LD/N
Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist
Diet Balance Nutrition & Wellness
Educational
www.dietbalance.net
Sources of U.S. GH Emissions
U.S greenhouse gas emissions by gas
Tg CO2 Eq.
8,000
HFCs, PFCs, & SF
Nitrous oxide
Methane
7,000
6,000
5,000
4,000
Carbon dioxide
3,000
2,000
1,000
0
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
SOURCE: Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2006, USEPA #430-R-08-005.
2002
2004
2006
2
2
GHG in our food system
Carbon dioxide
Fossil fuel activities such as
processing, production,
transportation and storage
Methane: 20x as potent
Emitted by ruminant animals,
food waste in landfills
Nitrous oxide: 300x as potent
Nitrogen-based fertilizers,
agricultural practices
HFC’s: Large global warming
potential
Human activities,
refrigeration, air conditioning
3
3
Today it takes between 7-10 fossil fuel calories
to bring 1 food calorie to the American plate
Energy flow in the U.S. food system
Energy per year in quads (1 x 10 BTU)
12
Food energy
we put in
10
Household storage
& prep (3.25 quads)
8
Commercial food
service (9.675 quads)
Food retail (o.377 quads)
Packaging materials
(0.678 quads)
6
Processing industry
(1.68 quads)
4
Transportation (1.39 quads)
2
Food energy
we get out
Agricultural production
(2.20 quads)
0
Energy consumed
10.2 quats
SOURCE: Copyright 2000, Dr. Martin C. Heller, University of Michigan Center for Sustainable Systems
Food energy available
1.4 quats
4
4
5
Which is more responsible for
global warming: your BMW or
your Big Mac?
“Believe it or not, it’s the burger.”
– Bryan Walsh, Time/CNN
SOURCE: http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/environment/article/0,28804,1602354_1603074_1603171,00.html
6
The average American
diet
The average American
diet creates 2.8 tons of
CO2 emissions each year
per person, which has
now surpassed the 2.2
tons generated by the
driving.
Roughly 1/3 of all
GHG emissions can be
traced back to the food
supply.
SOURCE: Eshel G and Martin P.A. Diet, energy and global warming. Earth Interactions. 2006: 10(9): 1-17. Bon Appetit Management Company.
7
Change your diet.
Change the planet. Feel fabulous.
Consistent
overlap between
personal and
planetary health
 What to consume
 How much to
consume
 Food-related
behaviors
8
Connecting the dots: Why Americans
have an SUV eating style
 Degree of meat/dairy
intake vs. plant
consumption
 Degree of highly
processed foods
 Cold chain system
 Disposable dining
culture
 Daily massive bottled
beverage consumption
 Americans guzzle 60
million plastic
bottles/day
 100 million aluminum
cans/day
9
9
Connecting the dots: Why Americans
have an SUV eating style
 High ratio of packaging to
food
 Global supermarkets in a flat
world
 The average food is
traveling 1500 miles
 800 million tons of food
shipped around the world
annually, a 400% increase
since 1960s
 US food supply provides
about 3800 calories pp/pd
 About 26% of edible food
available is wasted at
consumer level
SOURCE: Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture. “Checking the food odometer: Comparing food miles for local versus
conventional produce sales to Iowa institutions”. Iowa State University, July 2003.Heller, M.C. and G.A. Keoleian (2000).
Life Cycle-Based Sustainability Indicators for Assessment of the U.S. Food System (CSS00-04).
10
11
GHG emissions from food
Oils/sweets/
condiments
Beverages
Red meat
Other
Chicken/fish/
eggs
Fruits/vegs
Cereals
SOURCE:
Dairy
products
Weber CL, Matthews HS. Food-miles and the relative climate impacts of food choices in the United States. Environ
Sci Technol. 2008:42(10):3508-3513.
12
Why are cows so significant?
 It takes about 7 pounds of
corn and 2500 gallons of
H20 to put 1 pound on cattle
 Cows produce methane, which
is 23x more warming that CO2
 Growing plants: 2 fuel
calories/1 calorie of food
 Growing animals: 20-80 fossil
fuel calories/1 calorie food
 Research from U.S. and
Netherlands has found beef
and dairy account for about
50% of a family’s “food
footprint”
SOURCE: Geagan, K. Go Green Get Lean: Trim Your Waistline with the Ultimate Low Carbon Footprint Diet. New York: Rodale (2009).
13
Greener Pastures are Possible
 Grass-fed & Organic Production
 2006 study finds it requires
about 50% less fossil fuel
energy than conventional grain
systems.
 2003 Swedish study found
organic beef raised on grass
emits 40% fewer GHG’s and
consumes 85% less energy.
 “Local” helps reduce food miles
 Local Food Systems
 animal/plant production are recoupled
 Bison (grassfed)
 Wild Game (venison, elk, fowl)
Pimentel, “Impacts of Organic Farming on the Efficiency of Energy Use in Agriculture: An Organic Center State of
Science Review” (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, The Organic Center, 2006).
Cederberg, Intl J Life Cycle (2003) 8(6):350-56.
14
Plant foods:
lean and green cuisine
Plant based diets a
cornerstone of energy
efficient diets
 A 2006 study rated energy
efficiency of diets:
 Lean and green super foods:
nuts, beans, soy
Most
Vegan
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo)
Poultry
“Mean American” (FAOSTAT 2005)
Fish
Red meat
Least
SOURCE: Eshel G and Martin P.A. Diet, energy and global warming. Earth Interactions. 2006: 10(9): 1-17.
15
Plants and planetary health:
Healthy in every sense
How many calories
of fossil fuel are
required to
produce 1 calorie
of food?
 Tuna: 17.2
 Grain-fed beef: 16
 Chicken: 5.5
 Herring: 0.9
 Milk: 4.8
 Corn: 0.4
 Soy: 0.24
 Apple: 0.9
SOURCE: Eshel and Martin 2006.
16
High-protein, low-carb diets
use almost 2x the land
Researchers compared
land required
 Amount of land to
feed 15 million
Americans on a LCHP
diet: 17.49 million
acres
 Amount of land to
feed 15 million
Americans on USDA MP:
9.77 million acres
SOURCE:
Wilkins, J et al. Increasing Acres to Decrease Inches: Comparing the Agricultural Land Requirements of a Low-Carbohydrate,
High Protein Diet with a MyPyramid Diet. J Hun Env Nutr. Vol 3(1) 3-16.
17
Impact of Diet on Resource Use:
Seventh Day Adventist Study
Comparison for
vegetarian & non
vegetarian diets from
Adventist Health Study
Input
Ratio
 Water (L):
2.9
 Primary Energy (kJ) 2.5
 Fertilizer (g)
13
 Pesticide (g)
1.4
SOURCE: Am J Clin Nutr 2009; 89 (suppl): 1699S-703S
.
18
What’s the dish on fish?
 Food chain is key
 Tuna, salmon
 Plant eating fish are planet
friendly
 Tilapia, catfish, barramundi
 U.S. farm raised
 Fresh flown seafood is a
splurge
 10X as carbon intensive
 Lean and green super-foods
 Sardines, mackerel,
anchovies
19
19
Get the Dish on Fish
FishPhone:
Send a text to 30644 with the message FISH in caps,
followed by the name of the fish you want to know
about.
iPhone:
Download directly to your iPhone or iPod touch. Free at
http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/SeafoodWatch/web/sfw_i
Phone.aspx.
Cell phone:
Available for all mobile devices with an Internet
connection at mobile.seafoodwatch.org.
Log On:
Download a seafood pocket guide specifically for your
region: http://www.blueocean.org or Pocket Seafood
Selector at www.oceansalive.org.
20
The Key to Success
Lean and green super-foods are the foundation for
weight loss, satiety
fight inflammation and maximize health-at a winning
cost
•Nuts/pistachios
•Beans and legumes
•Fruits and vegetables
•Whole grains/ancient
grains
21
21
Produce unwrapped:
“Local or global?”
Keep it local, preferably organic!
•Shifting 1 day to plant foods (or
even chicken and fish) reduces GHG
emissions more than moving to an all
local diet of mostly beef
Local and regional food networks
•“As much as you can, to the extent you can”
SOURCE: Weber CL, Matthews HS. Food-miles and the relative climate impacts of food choices in the United States. Environ Sci Technol. 2008:42(10):35083513.
22
22
Produce Unwrapped:
“Organic or Conventional?”
Organic is greener
•Organic production uses about 3060% less fossil fuel than
conventional systems because of the
fossil fuel to manufacture, ship and
apply fertilizers
•Organic farms act like a carbon sink,
storing 2-3X more carbon
Need to consider:
•Mode of transport, shipping
distance, packaging
SOURCE: N .El-hage Scialabba and C. Hattam, eds., Organic Agriculture, Environment and Food Security (Rome: UN FAO, 2002).The Rodale Institute
23
The fossil fuel density of food
Calorie density
Nutrient density
New language for new realities:
 Fossil fuel density
 What’s your “dietary lifestyle?”
24
We can
simplify
for the
consumer
SOURCE: Courtesy of Natural News
25
Easy ways to start losing
A 2008 study identified
4 key elements that
would reap significant
energy savings:
 Eating fewer calories
 Modern food system produces
over 3500 calories pp per day
 Less meat, more plants
 Return to minimally processed
foods/less junk food
 More local food in diet
SOURCE: Pimentel David. Human Ecology 2008 (DOI: 10.1007/s10745-008-9184-3).
26
26
Eating “green” another
consumer benefit
A more cost-effective way to eat
 Plant proteins cost less than
animal proteins
 Nutrient to cost/value of
choosing “one ingredient foods”
 Reduce our reliance on a
convenience food and fast food
culture
 Sipping cleanly and cheaply
 Moving back to the kitchen from
the drive-thru
 Taking less, wasting less
27
Are You Ready to Change
YOUR Dietary Lifestyle?
28