Abstract
Different food types have a differential impact on climate change as evident from The EDGAR FOOD- a comprehensive database of GHGs from the food systems. For instance, meat and dairy farming, contributing around 14.5 % of global GHGs, pose a greater threat to climate than most other plant-based food. Amongst the developing countries, India is within the top six contributors in food system related emissions and grapples with the issues related to food security. Our pilot study focuses on the food consumption patterns within the city of Ahmedabad, which is predicted, as per Gujarat SAPCC: Draft Report to record heightened temperature increase up to 4.4 degree Celsius. The study amongst the educated city dwellers of Ahmedabad spread across diverse locations reveal that while 77% followed the vegetarian diet, as many as 64.5% underestimated the actual impact of their food choices on climate change. The paper studies the impact range of the prefered vegetarian food items on climate change by mapping crop production, land use, agriculture management, transport, processing and packaging, retail, and waste management. Since governance and government incentives play a crucial part in adding or removing food items from the mass food platter alongside variables such as culture, habits, accessibility, affordability, education and occupation, we categorize vegetarian food items based on their impact on GHG emissions. This categorization could be used at the policy level to incentivize and disincentivize food items based on their impact on climate change.
Presenters
Diti VyasAssociate Professor, Communications, Anant National University, India Aditya Parekh
Assistant Professor, School of Design, Anant National University, India
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
CLIMATE CHANGE, FOOD CONSUMPTION PATTERNS, POLICY, INCENTIVIZE, AHMEDABAD, IMPACT ASSESSMENT
