Cherwell Collective is hosting our second annual Carbon Cost of Food Week from 24 to 31 January.  We aim to help our community understand the Carbon Cost of their food choices and to keep those in mind when picking meals and grocery items.  Sign up at this link for notifications about our actions during the week.

What is the Carbon Cost of Food?

As workers and consumers, we often think of costs in terms of our time or money.  To help the planet and avert climate change, we should also consider what things cost in terms of carbon. This Carbon Cost is a shorthand for the quantity of greenhouse gas emissions produced by our consumer choices. Food production accounts for an estimated one-quarter to one-third of the Carbon Cost of our lives!

Related: Learn about how your new year’s resolution to eat healthy can also be planety-friendly through a Climatarian Diet.

Our Carbon Cost of Food Week is all about helping you understand the Carbon Cost of your food choices. We use a metric called car mile equivalents to make the Carbon Cost of food more understandable. It’s a way of measuring the emissions of our consumer choices by the equivalent emissions produced by driving an ordinary UK petrol car.

Example:  Carbon Cost of a Cheeseburger

Here’s an example of measuring an ordinary cheeseburger’s Carbon Cost in car mile equivalents.  Producing one serving of beef for a cheeseburger produces the same quantity of greenhouse gas emissions as driving a petrol car 8 miles.  The slice of cheese on top produces the same emissions as driving 0.7 miles, and the bun measures about 0.5 miles.  Adding on various toppings such as lettuce, pickles, onion, and tomato represents another half-mile equivalent of emissions.  When you sum it up, a cheeseburger has the same emissions as driving 9.7 miles.  

Now you understand that a cheeseburger has a Carbon Cost of 9.7 miles.  But we rarely see food items on menus or in grocery stores labeled in this way.  Enter Carbon Cost of Food Week!

We are partnering with various food providers in Oxfordshire. Our partners will display menu items with their Carbon Cost in car mile equivalents so that consumers can consider their effect on the planet in addition to their effect on pocketbooks and wallets.

Where will you find our partnerships in action during the week?

• Lady Margaret Hall – Oxford University
• Oxford Brookes University
• Damascus Rose Kitchen – 40 George Street, Oxford

How You Can Participate

You can participate and try measuring the Carbon Cost of Food by eating at one of our partners.  However, if you cannot get to one of those, we have a way for you to participate on your own with our Carbon Cost Challenge! This is an opportunity to try carbon costing yourself by adding up the Carbon Cost of one meal/snack or one trip to the grocery store and submitting it to us.  You can sign up for the challenge on our website.

You can download our Carbon Cost Graphic here.

Those who complete the Carbon Cost Challenge will be entered to win potential prizes, including gift certificates to our Waste Innovation Station (WISH) or our Climatarian Kitchen.

Events During the Week

25 – 27 January Climatarian Kitchen Carbon Cost Meal

Cherwell Collective’s Climatarian Kitchen will host its usual weekly meal service from Thursday 25 Jan to Saturday 27 Jan, open from 11am to 2pm each day at Exeter Hall, Kidlington OX5 1AB. You can see the food offerings and our Carbon Costed menu below.

27 January Celebration Brunch

If you live in Greater Oxfordshire, UK, we would love to see you during the week.  Please join us at The Old Fire Station, 40 George St, Oxford OX1 2AQ.  We will get together for a brunch on Saturday, 27th January, from 10 AM – 12 PM!

We will be teaming up with Damascus Rose Kitchen and hosting an “Unwanted Gift Swap” as a way to participate in the Circular Economy.  At the event you can:

• Sample tasty food by Damascus Rose Kitchen, choosing off a Carbon Costed menu
• Participate in person in our Carbon Cost of Food Challenge
• Learn about the Carbon Cost of Food and ways to take action
• You can also bring an unwanted gift and swap it for something new!  If you don’t have anything to swap, you can come and shop the swap for a donation of £4.

Private Events

During the week we will also be holding a number of smaller private events with particular organisations including:

• Cherwell District Council Climate Summit in Banbury
• Carbon Costing consultation at Eden Cafe with WISH
• Carbon Costing event at the Oxford Brooke’s Canteen with Oxford Food Hub.
• BeyondCop21 Symposium exhibition on Cherwell Collective’s contribution to social development goals and Carbon Costing.

23 – 25 January Waste 2 Taste Private Event

Cherwell Collective will be at Shotover View Assisted Living Center, Craufurd Road OX4 2SQ and at St. Edmund’s Hall Oxford University, 930am to 2:30pm each day. You can view the menu we will be serving at Shotover View below and see an example of a Carbon Costed menu.

Sign Up and Learn More

Visit our Carbon Cost of Food Week webpage to learn more details and sign up for notifications about the weeks events!

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