What we eat represents almost a third of the greenhouse emissions each of us are responsible for. By growing our own food we can all make a contribution to bring down these emissions. Not only will you be doing the planet a favour, but you will also be eating food that is better for you and feeling the pride that only a gardener can feel when eating something produced by your own hand.
Where do all these emissions come from? The average Australian produces 18.9 tonnes of greenhouse pollution every year (compared to just 1 in India). These emissions can be divided into two categories, “direct emissions” and “indirect emissions”.
Direct emissions include greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere by personal consumption like using electricity derived from the combustion of coal, or driving a car powered by the burning of petrol. Indirect emissions are embodied in the products that we use in day-to-day living that have used energy (most often derived from the burning of fossil fuels) in their manufacture, like all the energy required to mine iron ore, process it into steel, then assemble it (along with all the other components) into a car.
Of our total per capita emissions, direct emissions include household emissions (20%) and transport emissions (10.5%). We can reduce these emissions relatively painlessly as they are emissions we have direct control over. That is, we can reduce our consumption of energy (a behavioural change that is achievable by everyone!), and we can make use of “Greenpower” and carbon offset schemes to compensate for the CO2 emissions that remain after we have reduced consumption as much as possible.
Indirect emissions are not quite so simple for us to rein in because they are not as obvious. All the goods and services we consume in our daily lives represent some energy use and therefore carbon emissions. Goods and services (29.4%) and constructions and renovations (11.8%) comprise a sizeable component of our annual greenhouse pollution, but with a little effort and an understanding of the embodied emissions of the products we consume, we can bring these levels down by choosing products that represent lower energy consumption. In Australia, our per capita carbon emissions are one of the highest in the world because we have an abundance of easy-to-use fossil fuels, so the consumption of any product in Australia represents significant greenhouse pollution. So what can we do to bring down these emissions? Governments can legislate for carbon taxes, and provide incentive schemes to encourage businesses to produce products with lower embodied emissions, and consumers can (and do!) buy goods and services that represent a lower carbon future. Remember, consuming less of everything means less emissions. The less stuff you buy, the lower your emissions will be.
Our diet comprises an average of 28.3% (see chart) of our carbon emissions; this represents almost a third of out total emissions and nearly three times as much as transport. If our average annual greenhouse pollution is 18.9 tonnes a year, and our food consumption creates 28.3% of this, then we each produce (on average) 5.35 tonnes a year to put food on our tables. This represents over 100 000 of those black balloons a year. As you can see, there is a great deal of energy used in our food production, in fact our industrialised farming system consumes more kilojoules than we receive when we consume the end products – this is obviously not sustainable.
Don’t underestimate your own capacity to reduce your impact on the planet that supports us all. Compost your garden waste and your kitchen scraps, use local organic sources of fertility, use hand tools and a bit of muscle in the garden, and avoid heavily packaged and processed foods. Start small and build up your production as your skills increase and you will soon discover the unbridled joy that growing your own food can give – and you can bask in the glow of knowing you are doing your bit.
But isn’t it a bit “pie in the sky” to suggest that we can grow all this food in, or close to, our cities? It may take a revolution, but it is possible. In 1991 the Soviet Union pulled out of Cuba. This, combined with the US trade embargo, left the island nation without access to oil for machinery, transport and fertilisers to grow the nation’s crops. So they had to find ways to feed the nation locally.
By 2003, the city of Havana had undergone a revolution with 60% of food consumed being produced locally from within the province through the popular gardens (huertos populares). These urban farms are all organic, use intensive hand cultivation techniques and act as supermarkets for the locals, so all up there are virtually no carbon emissions generated in the production of 60% of Havana’s food. So whilst it may take a revolution, it is possible if the situation demands it, and with the spectre of dangerous climate change looming large, perhaps we should begin to take some revolutionary steps.
