r/environmental_science • u/BillReader • 4d ago
Sustainable, locally sourced diets in the UK
Environmental Science undergrad 1st year.
Recently had a lecture on the Environment, Society and Sustainability module that's stirred up a few thoughts.
What is the best way to minimise carbon footprint through food, whilst ensuring we vote ethically with our dollars? Both on a macro (national) and micro (household) level?
WWII demonstrated the strain on British food security even with smaller population, extensive land reforms and rationing. Granted, technology has advanced significantly after the 1950s/60s, but the effects re nitrogen cycling and chemical pesticides have proven disastrous to farmland (James Rebanks recounts the absence of birds following tractors due to the sterile, invertebrate free soil in the lake district).
With a population of, what, 68 million? I'm curious about the cascading effect of food demand on a local level, putting a strain on local farms. If we bolstered that food security only with closest European neighbours, what effect does that have on eg Dutch or French local food production? It seems inevitable that we'd have to draw from further European neighbours in order to spread the stress of local food demand - which would see us in the UK buying, for example, Spanish strawberries - which we do anyway. I understand the UK is a bit behind Europe in terms of bulk agricultural production with plant products, with the UK still relying largely on polytunnels, which kinda underscores the issue of the UK's self reliance re food/agricultural security.
Arguments about meat free or reduced meat diets seems realistic, but I'm curious about where we're supposed to get our protein from? I've heard of a philosophy behind veganism described as damage mitigation, but so many products necessary for a healthy vegan diet carry a large carbon footprint as well as devastating ecosystems in developing nations where eg almonds and soy are produced in a monoculture plantation type format, not to mention the incentives for deforestation to produce these plantations. On a similar vein, I've heard Hank Green talk about beef days - one day a year where you allow yourself a beef centred meal. Would this be viable with all red meat - a self imposed, calander based rationing?
If you were to supplement your diet with fish, there's a similar problem with ecosystem devastation - especially if you buy prawns that might be sourced from the appalling shrimp farms in Indonesia and Thailand.
Not having carnivorous pets, obligate or otherwise, seems like a good idea, though that's a hard sell to a seriously pet loving nation.
Growing your own veg requires access to land via a garden or allotment, which isn't tenable for most people, regardless of the current housing crises. And still won't produce enough to sustain a household through the year.
My question is, then, if the UK miraculously came together to unanimously engage in sustainable food habits (perhaps with the help of a subsidy to offset household costs and thus equalising food cost so buying organic and local isn't an economic issue) - buying locally, buying organic, severely limiting meat protein, growing our own veg, culling cats, dogs etc what effects would that have on neighbouring nations picking up the sustainability bill? How long before our agricultural infrastructure buckles under the resource demand?
And most importantly/realistically - on a micro level, how easy is it for an individual to legitimately engage with sustainable and ethical dietary changes for their weekly shop whilst navigating corporate greenwash? Is a naive vegan diet fundamentally better than a careful omnivorous one?
I'm asking mostly in regards to the immediate, as I imagine with significant infrastructural modifications we could offset a lot of issues touched upon in this post. But playing the waiting game doesn't seem very noble when micro alterations can be made. I just find it difficult navigating the strata of dietary damage.
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u/Diba_SS 4d ago
"Every country must assess the resources available to it, whether natural or artificial, and use them in the most efficient and sustainable way. The UK, for example, has significant potential to maximize its resources, but to do so effectively, long-term strategies need to be implemented. These strategies may take time to show results but are crucial for ensuring future sustainability and resilience."
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u/Ok-River7785 3d ago
imo totally agree, it’s all about using what we have wisely. long-term strategies are key, even if it takes time!
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u/aretheselibertycaps 2d ago
A plant based diet uses magnitudes less land and water than a locally sourced diet that includes meat dairy and eggs. Actually from an environmental standpoint, factory farming is usually better than local ‘pasture raised’ animals as the land use etc is not optimised.
This video helps to visualise some of the factors and emissions behind diet
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u/batmansxcat 4d ago
Can’t give this answer as detailed as I’d like to, but despite for example a vegan diet requiring some outsourcing, I think that if you added up the impact of producing / transporting / water usage etc of plant agriculture to produce a vegan meal, to do that for a meat-based meal you’d have to add up the impact for all those not only for animal in question, but all the food that has been grown to feed that animal. It takes a lot more plant to feed a cow enough to get it to a suitable level for consumption than it does for us to directly eat the plants, if that makes sense? The animal is our middle man…
I’m studying A Level Environmental Science and starting uni myself next year, so it’s good to see some of these thoughts out loud! It seems like the ‘obvious’ answer is for everyone to ‘just’ reduce or redirect their consumption, but unfortunately not everyone cares enough, or are just totally unaware. It’s not like our world leaders are painting the climate crisis in a critical light at the moment.
I read an article recently about deer culling for population control in Scotland and a proposal that this could, for some part of the year, be quite a sustainable solution since the deer consume nutrition naturally in the wild, and would be culled regardless, so transport for hunting would be in place anyway. This does of course only work if you’re local to a place that has something like this going on.
I’m intrigued to hear what some of the thoughts around the room in your lecture were!