www.fifediet.co.

uk

Fife Diet:
Carbon foodprint: comparative study and member analysis
3rd August 2010

Prepared by:
Charles Henderson of Climate Futures

Climate Futures Ltd 164 Montgomery St Edinburgh EH7 5ER

Registered in Scotland SC3348804
e: charles@climatefutures.co.uk t: 0131 652 1893
www.climatefutures.co.uk


 1

1.
 Introduction ................................................................... 3

1.1
 Purpose
of
footprint
and
analysis................................................................................3

1.2
 Objectives............................................................................................................................... 3

2.
 Method ........................................................................... 4

2.1
 Research
method ................................................................................................................4

2.2
 What’s
been
calculated.....................................................................................................5

2.2
 Calculation
assumptions..................................................................................................5

3.
 Findings: baseline carbon footprint ................................ 7

3.1
 UK
Average
food
emissions............................................................................................7

3.2
 Average
Fife
Diet
footprint .............................................................................................7

3.3
 Fife
Diet
baseline.................................................................................................................9

3.4
 Pledges.................................................................................................................................. 10

4.
 Discussion .................................................................... 12

4.1
 Membership ....................................................................................................................... 12

4.2
 Impact
of
Fife
Diet
Membership................................................................................ 13

4.3
 Degree
of
influence ......................................................................................................... 13

4.4
 The
low‐carbon
journey
and
limits
to
the
Fife
Diet .......................................... 15

4.5
 Recommendations........................................................................................................... 16



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1. Introduction
1.1 Purpose of footprint and analysis

Fife Diet is measuring and analysing membership carbon emissions to monitor

effectiveness and demonstrate progress to the Climate Challenge Fund and
participants.

Climate Futures has been appointed to help develop a method, collect data,
calculate the carbon footprint of food (carbon foodprint1) and undertake analysis.

1.2 Objectives

The objectives of the study are to:

• Calculate average UK food emissions

• Calculate emission savings for existing actions and pledges of participants
• Estimate membership emissions
• Analyse differences between the UK average, Fife Diet member foodprints and
pledged savings

As parallel, related outcomes, Climate Futures is also assisting Fife Diet with:

• A spreadsheet system to calculate an accurate foodprint per ‘research volunteer’

household2
• A profile design to bring to life the foodprint of each member as part of a wider
communication programme


























































1

For this assessment, ‘carbon foodprint’ is defined as the carbon footprint of food



2
For members who complete a detailed questionnaire


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2. Method
2.1 Research method

A sample group of 72 ‘research volunteer’ households, comprising 161 individuals,

were questioned in as much detail as practicable about their food habits in 2009
and pledged actions. The households, who signed up between February – April
2010, were individuals, couples and families.

Research volunteers, by household type, in sample

Adults and children in sample households


 4

 What this tells us:
• the largest group in the research sample is single adults living alone (30)
• followed by two adults living alone (18) and then two adults living with two
children (11)
• single parent families (2), two adults living with one child (3) or with three
children (4) comprise small groups in the sample
• there are also two instances of four adults living together, once instance of
four adults with one child and one of three adults and one child
• there are 119 adults and 42 children in the sample households
• note: more information on the Fife Diet membership is given in ‘discussion’,
section 4

An online questionnaire was used. This included questions on what is being done in
the household already towards a Fife Diet (meat eating, organic, local, grow-your
own, composting) and pledges under the themes of eating local, organic, meat
consumption, growing own fruit and vegetables, wasting less and composting.

Carbon emission factors3 were used from Climate Challenge Fund study, A Low
Carbon Route Map for Food (ALCRMF) for an average adult.
2.2 What’s been calculated

Carbon foodprints were calculated for sample households using a spreadsheet

model, for:

• household total based on average UK adult, derived child emissions and

numbers of each4
• impact of current actions of non-members and members (beyond the UK
average) eg eating organic, local
• impact of further pledged actions

These data were used to estimate the equivalent footprints for all the 550
households, who are signed up as members of the Fife Diet (at the time of writing).

They also provided a profile for households of different compositions.

2.2 Calculation assumptions

• Sample of 72 households is representative of all Fife Diet members

• Average adult food, cooking and travel emissions, and savings from pledges, are
as outlined in ALCRMF
• The average UK adult eats 14 meat meals per week
• 'Meat' does not include the oceanic emissions from fish
• Average child food emissions are proportional to the weight of food consumed5
• Shopping and cooking emissions are proportional to the number of people in
household6

























































3
A Low Carbon Route Map for Food, Climate Challenge Fund, 2009
4
Household type is, for example, 1 adult only, 2 adults + 2 children
5
Derived from National Diet and Nutrition Survey, 2008/2009, Food Standards Agency



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• Existing household actions towards a Fife Diet are above and beyond the
national average
• Pledges given for a household apply across all of its members
• This ‘current day’ snapshot of members, gathered over the period February –
April 2010, represents emissions of the Fife Diet


























































6

according to the general formula: 2 x sum of adults and children -1 / sum of adults and children



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3. Findings: baseline carbon footprint
3.1 UK Average food emissions

Average UK food carbon emissions are taken from ALCRMF. An estimate was
made for emissions from the food of children (ages 0 - 18), based on quantity
consumed. Shopping transport and cooking emissions are also included. Average
UK emissions of a child and adult are shown below:

Average UK emissions for an adult / child (kgCO2)

Note: indicative emission figures given for shopping and transport. These are calculated by household type
according to the formula in section 2.2

What this tells us:

• Average UK food emissions are 2,292 kg CO2e for an adult and 1,504 kg
CO2e for a child
• Cooking and disposal accounts for 488 kg CO2e for an adult and 323 kg
CO2e for a child
• Shopping and transport emissions are a small part of the UK food total –
about 40kg CO2e for the average adult (see note above for more)

3.2 Average Fife Diet footprint

Sample households were asked about food habits, which have the potential to affect
their carbon foodprints. These are meat eating, organic, local and seasonal diets,
waste generation and composting. The results show that these dietary habits all


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produce a reduction in carbon emissions below the national average for the average
Fife Dieter. Foodprint savings are shown here:

Average Fife Diet emission savings below UK average, per adult equivalent (kgCO2)

Fife Diet emissions compared to UK average, per adult equivalent (kgCO2)


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 What this tells us:
• Significant savings are being made by the average Fife Dieter below the
national average, by eating less meat (539 kgCO2, 74% of savings), eating
organic (89 kgCO2, 12% of savings), eating local (58 kgCO2, 8% of savings),
composting (37 kgCO2, 5% of savings) and growing their own (4 kgCO2,
0.5% of savings)
• Combined, these yield savings of 726 kg CO2 per adult equivalent – 27%
below the national average

3.3 Fife Diet baseline

Average emissions and savings were multiplied by adult equivalents in the total
membership (1120) to give total emissions. These are compared to the national
average for an equivalent number of households:

Total carbon foodprint of the Fife Diet compared to UK average - kgCO2

What this tells us:

• Estimated net ‘foodprint’ emissions of the Fife Diet membership are 2,185
tonnes CO2
• These comprise food emissions of 1,829 tonnes CO2, home, cooking and
travel emissions of 356 tonnes CO2
• Average UK emissions for this number of households would be 2,984 tonnes
CO2
• Total savings below the national average are 799 tonnes CO2
• Fife Diet foodprint emissions are approximately 27% below the national
average


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3.4 Pledges

Carbon foodprint savings of pledges per adult (kgCO2)

What this tells us:

• Average pledged reductions are 135 kg C02 per adult
• In order of decreasing carbon reduction, pledges are wasting less, eating
organic, composting, eating less meat, eating local and ‘grow your own’

If these pledges were multiplied by adult-equivalent membership, they would give

the following net carbon footprint:

Net carbon foodprint with pledges compared to the national average - kg CO2


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 What this tells us:
• Total pledges across the membership are an estimated 151 tonnes CO2 –
which would deliver an additional 5% savings below the UK average
• If these were delivered, the Fife Diet net foodprint would be 2,034 tonnes
CO2 – 32% below the national average


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4. Discussion
4.1 Membership

Overall Fife Diet membership is in the approximate ratio 3 women : 1 man. Within
the research volunteers, the dominant family groupings are single adults living
alone, followed by two adults living alone. Although the research volunteers sample
does not have the same composition as Fife Diet members, this finding suggests
that a greater proportion of women are interested in the Fife Diet than men,
regardless of their family status.

The age range of members varies from 16-84, with the greatest proportion aged 35-
507. This suggests that members are of generally of working age, which is often
reflected in a higher disposable income and carbon footprint. Fife Diet membership
also implies this group is environmentally active.

Fife Diet members live across the county, with more in the conurbations,
particularly on the south coast (see map, below). Approximately 20% of Fife Diet
members live outside the county. It is, however, Fife residents who are best placed
to take advantage of the county’s local producers and community gardens, to
reduce their foodprints.


























































7
based on 435 members who gave their date of birth



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4.2 Impact of Fife Diet Membership

The household sample representing ‘Research Volunteers’ have an average

foodprint which is approximately 27% lower than the UK average.

Furthermore, the top 10 in this sample have a foodprint which is between 36% -
43% lower than the national average.

Equally as encouraging, the research volunteer sample has pledged to reduce its
food impact yet further, by wasting less, eating local and organic, composting,
eating less meat and growing their own. These would reduce emissions by a further
5%.

These reductions are very significant, as they are being achieved against the
backdrop of a food system, which is highly unsustainable and predisposes members
towards a high foodprint.

Understanding the position of a Research Volunteer household on the ‘low carbon

journey’ and its influence by the Fife Diet is a complex task. Existing members
have joined at different times over the past two years, and some will have made
strides in this direction under their own initiative.

However, signing up to the Fife Diet has contributed to carbon saving in most
cases. The Diet educates, signposts local production and reinforces through a sense
of community. The degree of influence has been investigated through two studies.

4.3 Degree of influence

4.3.1 Research Volunteer lunch

26 Research Volunteers responded to a questionnaire and gave anecdotal responses

at a lunchtime event.

Q: How much has the FD influenced your behaviour change around food?


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Almost 9 out of 10 respondees (23/26) indicated that the Fife Diet had some
influence over their behaviour (and hence foodprint).

4.3.2 University of Cork

Further research was carried out by a student8 in June 2010, which gave the
following responses from 13 interviewees:

Q: Do you feel that the Fife Diet has contributed to you behaviour change around food?

In this case, over 75% of the small sample said the Fife Diet was having an
influence. For those who responded ‘possibly’ or ‘no’, the Fife Diet has a
reinforcing effect, which is valuable, and it could prevent future ‘slips’ from
environmentally responsible behaviour.

Other comments from the 13 interviewees are:

• eating 100% local food was so extreme, it made you think! The challenge to be strict made
them join.
• loved the idea and said that it made sense and combined things that they had been thinking
of individually and for them the seasonality aspect was added
• finds the Fife Diet thought provoking
• regrets not having appreciated the local food that was available where he lived before as there
was such an abundance there
• it has been a subtle change of awareness thanks to the Fife Diet
• more aware now of local food and that it has been a gradual move towards eating more local
food since knowing about the Fife Diet
• they were pushing their habits so that initially they were a bit out of their comfort zone
until they got used to it, changing habits incrementally
• motivated to join the Fife Diet to really understand what it is about. Today they are much
more strict about what they eat, where it has come from, where they buy it



























































8
Anke Auler, University of Cork



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4.4 The low-carbon journey and limits to the Fife Diet

The Fife Diet recommends a number of approaches to members, including eating

local, organic, less meat and wasting less.

Considering the relative impact of these approaches, in terms of appeal to new

members, and saving carbon, gives an interesting discussion. This is explained by
Mike Small of the Fife Diet, below. The limits to realistic savings by members are
also discussed.
Note on Local Food – Mike Small

“At only 8% carbon reduction [of the total savings below the national average] you
could conclude that ‘eating local’ is a limited impact approach next to, for example
lowering meat consumption. However the Fife Diet project considers food miles
and local eating as a gateway issue to wider sustainable and resilient food systems
and communities. There is a tactical advantage in starting with the issue of eating
locally. ‘Local food’ attracts a wider demographic and has strong and growing
support for multiple reasons. The Fife Diet project has found that it is a good place
to open the conversation about sustainability and then widen that conversation to
include issues around climate change, food sovereignty, meat consumption, animal
husbandry, land use, planning and retail domination by multiples, food waste and
other related matters.”
Note on Meat Consumption – Mike Small

“Whilst we can see that lowering meat consumption in general terms, offers the
highest return for carbon reduction we know that there are complexities that we
have not had the resources to fully examine as part of this study. For example there
are variations between grass-fed animals versus the expansion of industrial-scale
livestock systems. We also feel that meat is an important part of our food culture,
should be part of our agricultural mix and is beef, lamb and pork farming is an
important part of the Fife Diet’s own producer network. We aim to work with both
the producers and consumers to get the right balance of a sustainable food system.

However, the energy and land required to rear, feed and transport animals in the
international livestock industry mean that meat and dairy have a significant
environmental footprint. We urgently need to address the vast over-consumption of
meat which is no associated with the Western diet, both for own health and for
addressing the realities of climate change. The average Briton’s meat intake is three
and a half times the recommended level. This is linked to diet-related conditions
such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease.”
Limits to Behaviour Change – Mike Small

“Whilst we can see that Fife Diet members can make carbon reductions around
their food by upwards of 40% set against the UK average, it’s clear that we are at
the limits of behaviour change. This does not mean that we cannot persuade large
amounts of people to make lifestyle changes around how they purchase and
consume their own food, it means that we are still asking people to do this in a
wider retail and agricultural context that makes this very difficult. The present


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system is still characterised by very long supply-chains, next day delivery systems
and a lack of awareness of seasonality. In short it’s very difficult to buy local food.
This project is successful despite the system. We are reminded of Tim Jackson of
the Sustainable Development Commission who argued that we must not see
behaviour change as the “thing we do when we have given up.” 9  

4.5 Recommendations

If carbon reduction is the priority, Promote the most effective ‘gateway’ pledges ie
eat local and organic, compost. Once engaged, consider other carbon saving
pledges such as ‘eat less meat’ and ‘waste less’.

Generate a larger member sample for the evaluation phase in 9 months time,
including the differences between members and non-members.

Further funds would allow more detailed research into the carbon footprints of the
average ‘non-engaged’ Fifer, and their motivations and ‘gateway’ action. These
should be sought as a priority.


























































9
Scottish Government conference “What Works in Behaviour Change?” – 28 June 2010


 16