Just How Green IS My Valley?

(steak photo courtesy of The Perfect Steak)

Debate about "local sourcing" and "sustainability" generally favors reducing the carbon footprint of food distribution by relying on locally-grown and raised foods, rather than the current supply chain that brings foods from around the world to your local grocery store. For example, the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University estimates food travels on average 1,500 miles from producer to consumer within the U.S. However, this argument has been denounced by Third World countries as another form of Western arrogance, since the globalization of the food supply chain has brought prosperity to poorer regions who account for an increasing portion of the West’s food consumption as Chilean peppers find their way to produce aisles in the depth of Winter and apples stored in gigantic warehouses are available year-round.

A new argument claims that shifting consumption away from red meats and dairy— even for as little as one day/week— might have a greater salutary impact on greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) than cutting down the time foods are en-route. Christopher Weber and Scott Matthews, analysts for the Carnegie Mellon Institute, argue it is virtually impossible to reduce transportation costs equivalent to the change on the environment by reducing the consumption of meat and dairy. “Replacing red meat and dairy with chicken, fish, or eggs for one day per week would save the equivalent of driving 760 miles per year. "Replacing red meat and dairy with vegetables one day a week would be like driving 1,160 miles less." Analysts admit their estimates are mostly theoretical in nature. Further meat producers argue that organic farming would be impossible without the manure produced by feed and dairy animals.

Other "green" initiatives include the one by Kraft to increase its use of Rainforest Alliance-certified coffee farms by 50%. As part of the company's sustainability goals it has targeted reducing plant energy use by 25%, cutting carbon dioxide emissions by the same amount, slashing production plant water consumption by 15%, reducing plant waste by 15%, and eliminating 150 million lbs. of packaging. A flurry of such announcements from major companies will likely result at some point in a wave of audits by skeptical media outlets.

Stay tuned.