Page 39 - TNE WORKBOOK

Welcome back! Today’s session is all about what we eat. But first!

Closing the loop on Energy (5 mins)

Spend five minutes discussing how you’re each going with your actions from the Energy session:

• What have you all achieved?

• What do you still want to get done, and what do you think are the obstacles making it harder for you
to do it?
• Quickly have a go at writing down one or two things you can each do to minimise those obstacles.

Now – on to food!

Step 1: Understanding the climate impact of the food we eat (15 mins)

First up, have a read through the box below. In it, you’ll find some facts about the connection between food
and climate change that you might surprise you (or if you’re super clued in about agricultural emissions, this
won’t be news to you).

The Problem
Agriculture is the second biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions, just behind the energy sector, at about
20% of total global emissions. Globally, livestock production creates 7.1 Gigatonnes of greenhouse gas per
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year. To put that into perspective, that’s the equivalent of about 2,060 coal-fired power stations running
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continuously for a year.
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The World Health Organisation’s recommended daily intake of meat per person is only 90 grams per day. 29
But currently on average, Australians eat almost three times this healthy amount every day. If countries
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like Australia continue to eat meat at our current rate, and if people in Asian countries adopt a meat-heavy
Western-style diet, then the global average temperature will rise past 4 degrees, even if we still go “all out to
curb climate change in other ways.”
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Australians also waste up to 30% of their food, costing us over $1000 each every year. All of our food scraps
in the bin end up in landfills, taking up space and release methane, a potent greenhouse gas that is 25 times
more damaging than carbon dioxide.

The Solution

Cutting our meat consumption is actually crucial if we want to help prevent damaging climate change.
Studies have found that to stay below 2 degrees of global warming, people in Western countries must reduce
their meat consumption. If everyone reduced their meat consumption to the recommended daily intake,
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agricultural emissions would reduce by a third and save millions of lives due to healthier eating. Not to
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mention that in Australia you’re much less likely to be overweight or obese if you eat a vegetarian diet.
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We also need to cut down on our food waste, and support a fairer, more resilient food system that supports
communities both in Australia and globally. Already there are positive changes with the increase of organic
and other sustainable methods for growing food. We have also seen an increase in the number of, and use
of, farmers markets. The system won’t be changed overnight but we can each do our part by switching to
sustainable, healthy and fair food.

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