Learn more about the environmental impact of food, and what you can do about it in Luxemburg

Answer: About 10% !

More generally, here is the distribution of our CO₂ emissions by source, in Europe (data 2020):

Source: developpement-durable.gouv.fr

These emissions are generated from deforestation, sometimes necessary to create farming soils, but also from methane emissions of breeding, as well as the heating of greenhouses, required in the coldest countries.

Farming alone accounts for more than 10% of worldwide CO₂ emissions. But if you add all what is necessary so the food reaches our plate (packaging, transportation, cold chain, storage, ...), most recent studies demonstrate that the real footprint could actually be close to 20 to 30% of global carbon emissions!

CO₂ emissions are the main cause of global warming, and although eating is of course a primary need, it is urgent to make a change to reduce its impact on the planet.

Answer: Eat less meat !

Meat is indeed the food we eat that has the highest carbon footprint. And more particularly, beef and lamb are the ones with the highest impact, by far.

The distance travelled by our food to our plate also matters, but not as much: in Luxemburg, the local climate does not allow us to eat a local and seasonal food during a part of the year, and therefore heating the greenhouses becomes mandatory. Nevertheless, depending on where some fruits or vegetables come from, and how they travelled to us, their carbon footprint may increase. It still remains lower than beef and lamb.

Obviously, the best option is to reduce meat consumption, and to eat locally when possible. But if you have to choose, reducing beef and lamb consumption is the most efficient option, especially if the meat is imported from foreign countries.

Regarding organic farming, it does not particulary make a difference in terms of carbon emissions. However, its impact on biodiversity protection is huge: the use of pesticides and intensive farming are real biodiversity killers, for animals as well as plants!

Answer: 35 x Luxemburg !

In other words, about 9 millions hectares (data 2018 by Wikipedia). If part of this surface is necessary due to the growing of the population, most of it is destroyed to respond to our 'occidental' habits: palm oil in South-Eastern Asia and Africa, breeding and soy in Brasil, but also cocoa, tea, coffee...

The three countries where deforestation is the most severe are Brasil, Congo and Indonesia, essentially to respond to the needs of 'developed' countries or because of political lack of action.

Not only this is a major risk for climate change (forest are the second biggest carbon absorber after the oceans), but it also highly damages biodiversity, which is threatened by the destruction of its natural habitats.

A few (little) good news still: deforestation has slowed down since 1990, the global surface of forests tends to increase in Europe, and China has started in the early 2000s a massive reforestation campaign. The vegetalized surface on the planet has also increased.

However, this is clearly not enough to 'compensate' the losses caused in the whole world, most of which (about 40%) is just to satisfy the demand from Europe. (source : Naturevolution.org).

It is therefore absolutely necessary to increase our efforts, both through our local politics, but also mainly by a shift in our abusive consumption habits.

Answer: About 5% !

The useful farming surface converted to 'organic' in Luxemburg constantly increases, but it remains minor.

Howvever, in 2020, the Government has committed to reach a surface of 20% by 2025, according to the PAN-Bio plan 2025. To support this, the most efficient way is to include more and more organic products in our plates!

Organic food has a double benefit: it respects biodiversity by being more careful with its environment, and it is better for our health. It has indeed been demonstrated many times that pesticides and chemical products used in intensive farming cause damage to our bodies (increased risk of cancer, hormonal issues, ...).

Non-organic farming also has a harmful effect on air quality, in particular close to large cities: the spray of insecticides and other chemical products on the fields are transported by the wind, and contaminate the air we breathe, with likely harmful consequences.