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More and more of us are becoming concerned about climate change and talking about our carbon footprint.
That’s what we’re going to discuss today as we look at the climate impact of our diet and ways to limit that footprint.
Perhaps no topic embodies the role of climate issues in our daily lives better than food.
But can individuals alone take care of the ecological footprint of their plate, or is it a collective responsibility?
And what should we eat to limit global warming?
Guest: Roman Ledoux
I am pleased to welcome today Roman Ledoux, director of MyCO2, affiliated with the Carbone 4 consultancy.
He launched MyCO2 in 2019 after spending 10 years helping companies calculate their carbon footprint and implement decarbonization strategies.
He told me that his carbon footprint was around 6 tons.
MyCO2 is an interactive presentation in which each person is invited to calculate their personal carbon footprint using a fill-in-the-blank text.
The approach is non-judgmental and playful, with satisfaction feedback of 4.7/5 during the recent public webinars that hosted over 400 people.
The conference helps to understand the orders of magnitude of carbon. MyCO2 is the only calculator that provides a reliable comparison with the average carbon footprint and has calculated the carbon footprints of nearly 40,000 people.
My questions
- Can you remind us what a carbon footprint is?
- Can you explain the role of Carbone 4 and MyCO2?
- What is our carbon footprint in France? What share comes from food versus other sectors? What are our reduction targets?
- Which countries today have the most decarbonized diets, and why?
- Which foods / production methods (organic or not) / cooking methods have the biggest impact on the climate? And for what reasons?
- Is eating imported fruits and vegetables bad for the climate?
- How about fish and seafood?
- Which types of meat are the most polluting, and why?
- Is it better to have groceries delivered or to drive there yourself?
- What advice would you give to decarbonize one’s diet? For someone who is just getting into the topic AND for someone who is already well advanced?
- What would the ideal decarbonized plate look like?
- What are the top 5 food groups that are healthiest for the climate?
- Can you share one or two low-carbon recipes with us?
Resources to learn more
- The MyCO2 website
- The government’s carbon footprint calculator
- Government article on the carbon footprint of food
- Understand (almost) everything about the climate, CNRS
- Cairn article: Climate and food — putting your feet in the dish
