UBC Undergraduate Research

Empowering eaters to make climate-friendly choices : a public education initiative Karimibiuki, Nazila; Keung, Ida; Kohnen, Courtney; Kolb, Carolyn; Kong, Alice; Kwan, Michael; Laban, Jennifer; Lai, Ka-Yan

Abstract

Agriculture and the food system are responsible for one third of carbon dioxide emissions worldwide (Meleca, 2008). However, climate change public education initiatives rarely focus on food choice as a solution to reducing human impact on climate (Neff, Chan, & Clegg, 2008). Our project aims to increase consumers’ awareness of the impact of the food supply chain and personal food choices on climate change. We designed a carbon-friendly food guide with six key recommendations for reducing food-related carbon emissions. The brochure targets Vancouver residents and will be distributed at UBC's farmer's market. We have also created a website which complements the brochure and further elaborates on our recommendations, and a label to indicate which foods at the farmer's market are carbon-friendly. With the brochure, website and label, it is hoped that consumers at the UBC farm will become more conscious of the food system's contribution to climate change. Recognizing that greenhouse gas contributes to global warming and changing personal food choices can significantly decrease food system emissions. Disclaimer: “UBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report.”

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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Canada