Every Bite Counts!

Abstract

The global food system is a major contributor to climate change, producing 19 - 29 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions (Vermeulen, et al., 2012). This system is entirely controlled by humans, and therefore, we are responsible for the negative effects of this system on the well-being of our planet. The large amount of greenhouse gas emissions occurs mainly due to food miles — the distance that food is transported from producer to consumer — and our meat consumption. In this research-informed action report I conducted a study to: i) determine if there was correlation between gender and meat consumption; and ii) if there was a correlation between gender and purchasing of locally grown foods. I learned that 67 per cent of high school boys and 71 per cent of girls that I surveyed consumed meat more than 4 times a week. Based on this data, I concluded that there was no correlation between gender and meat consumption amongst teenagers that I surveyed. However, I felt that meat consumption was rather high. Also, about 40 percent of boys and girls sometimes buy locally grown food, which is great, but a third of them did not know if the food they, or their parent, purchase is locally grown. Once again, I concluded that there was no correlation between gender and habits of purchasing locally grown foods. In repose to this, I decided to take an action and develop a video to make my peers more aware of global food systems and their relationship to climate change. I posted the video on FaceBookTM where my family and friends can view it and comment. I hope that this project inspires everyone to be more conscious about their diets and that we can collectively reduce the GHGs through reduced meat consumption.