Food and Greenhouse Gas emissions

Using information taken from...

Carbon Dioxide and Climate Change

• CO2 is a greenhouse gas.

• Some gases are lighter than air e.g. Helium.

• CO2 is heavier than air.• How big do you think

a kg of CO2 is?

Greenhouse gases

Carbon Dioxide CO2

Methane CH4

Nitrous Oxide N2O

1kg CO2=1 kg CO2e

1kg CH4 =25 kg CO2e

1Kg N20 =300 kg CO2e

Work with a partner

1. Order food and drink cards by ‘carbon intensity’, with the item that emits the most CO2e at the top and the least at the bottom.

2. Now take a pile of footprint cards and match the food and drink with the amount of CO2e you and your partner think it produces.

Additional information to help you,

• Remember that Methane is a 25 times more potent green house gas than CO2, Methane is produced by cows in the production of meat and milk based products.

• Assume the cup of tea is made with milk and the normal practice of boiling around double the water needed.

• Assume the carrots are average- grown in UK, non organic, supermarket bought.

• You bought the tomatoes in March (this makes a big difference as they are grown in a heated greenhouse).

A banana

80g CO2eHow many grams of CO2 e for a bunch of 6 bananas?

A mug of tea

71g CO2e No milk and boil only 1 mug of water 20g CO2e

A large Latte 340g CO2e

1kg of carrots

300g CO2e

Estimate how much for 1 carrot.

A 500ml bottle of Water

160g CO2e

What if you had a bottle of water every day for a year?

An Ice cream (from an ice cream van)

500g CO2e

What if you had an ice cream every week for a year?

A cheeseburger

2.5kg CO2e

How many bananas have the equivalent emissions?

1kg of organic vine tomatoes (UK grown)

50kg CO2e

Talk with your partner...

• How can we trust this information?

• What have you learnt?• What might you think about in the future?• What will you tell others about what you’ve

learnt?