Subject: RE: The problem of too many
In “The Fact Is” section, it says that the millions of tonnes of food wasted every year is equivalent to the carbon output of 2 million cars. The implied comparison is that food wastage is as bad for climate change as car usage. While your statistic about the amount of carbon released is probably correct, it is irrelevant to climate change for two reasons.
First, the same amount of carbon sequestered by food as it grows is ultimately released back to the environment whether it’s eaten by us or decomposed as waste. Further, the carbon impact for this food is neutral because this carbon is part of the natural carbon cycle – the amounts absorbed and ultimately released back into the environment are equal. Food wastage is bad for many reasons, but contributing to increasing atmospheric carbon levels and climate change is not one of them. Second, the comparison with cars is misleading because cars are burning fossil carbon that is not part of the natural carbon cycle and so its release does lead to increases in atmospheric CO2 and ultimately climate change.
It’s a small point perhaps, but I think it’s very important that our environment communications are as accurate as possible given the culture wars surrounding climate change.
Thank you again for a great publication. I look forward to many more.
Ian Craine,
Toronto, Ontario