Our food choices matter
1/4 dos impactes ambientais domésticos, ou individuais, é proveniente da alimentação.
A produção de alimentos é por isso cada vez mais um assunto do ambiente, assim como os transportes e a energia.
Nesse sentido, assim como os países começaram a adoptar estratégias para a reduzir o consumo de combustíveis fósseis ou para produzir fontes alternativas de energia, começam também a definir uma política ambiental para a alimentacão:
Every year, we Swedes each consume around 800 kg of food and drink. About a quarter of the environmental impact of Swedish households comes from what we eat; that is, from the emissions of greenhouse gases from foods on their way from field to fork.
Food also affects the environment in other ways, such as through the use of pesticides, eutrophication, deforestation and overfishing. But food can also have a positive effect on, for example, the agricultural landscape and biodiversity. Some foods have a major impact on the environment, others less so. That is why the choices we make in the shop matter.
In Sweden, we currently eat an average of 65 kg of meat (beef, lamb, pork and chicken) per person, each year; or 180 grammes per person, per day. That is about 20 percent more than ten years ago.
At the same time, meat is the kind of food that affects the environment most. We can therefore make a big difference if we reduce our meat portions or swap a couple of meals a week that contain beef, lamb, pork or chicken for vegetarian alternatives.
Did you know...that 1 kg of beef results in the production of 15-40 kg of greenhouse gases, which is about 10 times more than 1 kg of chicken meat? This is partly due to the digestion process of cattle that produces a large quantity of methane, which is a powerful greenhouse gas.
Fish and shellfish are largely a wild resource that we need to conserve. For fish to be available to eat in the long term, it is important that the fish are caught or cultivated in a sustainable way.
It is good for the health to eat fish and shellfish 2-3 times a week and to vary the choice of fish. It is also good for the environment, since it reduces the pressure on individual species.
A produção de alimentos é por isso cada vez mais um assunto do ambiente, assim como os transportes e a energia.
Nesse sentido, assim como os países começaram a adoptar estratégias para a reduzir o consumo de combustíveis fósseis ou para produzir fontes alternativas de energia, começam também a definir uma política ambiental para a alimentacão:
Every year, we Swedes each consume around 800 kg of food and drink. About a quarter of the environmental impact of Swedish households comes from what we eat; that is, from the emissions of greenhouse gases from foods on their way from field to fork.
Food also affects the environment in other ways, such as through the use of pesticides, eutrophication, deforestation and overfishing. But food can also have a positive effect on, for example, the agricultural landscape and biodiversity. Some foods have a major impact on the environment, others less so. That is why the choices we make in the shop matter.
In Sweden, we currently eat an average of 65 kg of meat (beef, lamb, pork and chicken) per person, each year; or 180 grammes per person, per day. That is about 20 percent more than ten years ago.
At the same time, meat is the kind of food that affects the environment most. We can therefore make a big difference if we reduce our meat portions or swap a couple of meals a week that contain beef, lamb, pork or chicken for vegetarian alternatives.
Did you know...that 1 kg of beef results in the production of 15-40 kg of greenhouse gases, which is about 10 times more than 1 kg of chicken meat? This is partly due to the digestion process of cattle that produces a large quantity of methane, which is a powerful greenhouse gas.
Fish and shellfish are largely a wild resource that we need to conserve. For fish to be available to eat in the long term, it is important that the fish are caught or cultivated in a sustainable way.
It is good for the health to eat fish and shellfish 2-3 times a week and to vary the choice of fish. It is also good for the environment, since it reduces the pressure on individual species.