My Lunch Is Causing Global Warming!

I came across www.eatlowcarbon.org by way of www.gogreengetlean.com website. Go Green Get Lean is the name of a new book by America's Green Nutritionist, Kate Geagan, MS, RD. More on Kate and her book in a later post.

Eatlowcarbon.com is the brainchild of the Bon Appetit Management Company Foundation. They want us to know that 1/3 of the global greenhouse emissions are due to the current food system-which includes our food choices. The Low Carbon Diet Calculator is an interactive tool that allows you to click and drag your daily food choices into a virtual cast iron skillet that then calculates how severe your carbon emissions are based on your meal.

Calculated in CO2e points (don't worry, they explain them on the site), the points rise and fall on the thermometer based on your choices. Obviously, the more plant based, local foods you chose, the lower your emissions. The more animal based foods you chose, the higher. I calculated mine based on my meals from yesterday and my total was easily in the 7500 CO2e range.

Tips for going on a low carbon diet include: moove away from beef and cheese, stop flying fish and if it's processed and packaged skip it. Many more helpful tips are on the FAQ page.

To be part of the solution and not the problem, the recommendation is to chose foods that reduce emissions by 25%. Looks like I've got some work to do.