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?
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