AMJL-16
commented
10 months ago hi, Research on diet part, it is a general overview of the subject. Should we narrow it to only Ireland ?
- Meat-heavy Diet:
Carbon Footprint:
High greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Beef and lamb, in particular, have the highest emissions per kilogram.
Land Use: Requires significant amounts of land for grazing and growing feed crops.
Water Use: High, especially for beef due to the water required to grow feed crops.
Biodiversity: Grazing and feed crop production can contribute to deforestation, impacting biodiversity. Overfishing is also a concern for those consuming large amounts of fish.
- Omnivore (Balanced meat and plant intake):
Carbon Footprint: Moderate GHG emissions, though still significant if red meats are regularly consumed.
Land Use: Mixed. Still requires land for animal agriculture, but less than a meat-heavy diet.
Water Use: Moderate. Again, red meat consumption can significantly drive up water use.
Biodiversity: Some impact due to a mix of plant and animal agriculture, but less than meat-heavy diets.
- Pescatarian (Fish and plants, no land animals):
Carbon Footprint: Lower than omnivorous, but emissions from fishery activities can still be notable.
Land Use: Reduced compared to diets involving land animals.
Water Use: Moderate. Aquaculture (fish farming) can consume significant water, but less than cattle farming.
Biodiversity: Concerns about overfishing and its impact on marine ecosystems.
- Vegetarian (Plants, dairy, eggs, no meat):
Carbon Footprint: Lower than pescatarian and omnivorous diets, but dairy production, particularly, can contribute to GHG emissions.
Land Use: Mixed. Dairy farming requires land for grazing and feed crops but generally less than meat production.
Water Use: Reduced, especially if the diet is low in dairy products.
Biodiversity: Dairy farming can impact land use and contribute to deforestation, but less so than meat-heavy diets.
- Vegan (Only plant-based foods):
Carbon Footprint: Typically the lowest among the diets mentioned here.
Land Use: Primarily for crops. Significantly less than diets involving animal agriculture.
Water Use: Generally lower, though it depends on the specific plant foods consumed (e.g., almonds require a lot of water).
Biodiversity: Potentially beneficial if it leads to reduced land conversion for agriculture. However, large-scale monocultures can also impact biodiversity.
- Local Shopping (Regardless of diet):
Carbon Footprint: Reduced due to fewer transportation emissions. The actual reduction depends on how far food typically travels to reach the consumer.
Land Use and Water Use: Not significantly different unless local farms use more sustainable practices.
Biodiversity: Potentially beneficial if local farms practice biodiversity-friendly farming.
Conclusion, plant-based diets typically have the lowest environmental impact. However, it's not just the type of diet but also the sourcing, production methods, that play a role in its overall carbon footprint.
adammkeane
In order to better understand how people can impact the earth and create a greener tomorrow we must understand dietary impact.
Research the effect of diet (Vegan, Veggie, localshopping etc) and what impact it has. We will create a basic algo for determining percentage of 1-100 based on these calculations.