- So I've always been told that eating local
is better for the environment.
And to figure out if that's true,
I mapped out where all of my food came from for a week
and estimated its environmental impact.
(light music)
Thank you to Hello Fresh for sponsoring today's video.
I am trying to do my part in being kind to the planet,
and I'm pretty sure that what I eat plays a role in that.
You see, I like to eat.
And I feel really lucky that I'm able
to try different flavours from all over the world
from the comfort of my own home.
Should I feel guilty for that?
Like, should I stop eating imported foods?
Awhile ago, I made a video about how food connects me
to my culture.
And Canada doesn't really grow everything
to let me do that.
For example, chocolate, coffee,
mystery spice blend from Trinidad.
It's only the beginning of farming season in Canada.
What is it?
It's May and it snowed like a couple of weeks ago.
So, not exactly ideal growing conditions
for fresh produce.
And if the food can't be grown locally,
then it needs to be farmed somewhere else,
travel all the way across the world
to get onto my plate.
So I'm gonna do a challenge where I track
where all of my food comes from for a week
and estimate the environmental impact of my food.
Sounds easy enough, I think.
Let's go get a map.
Where do I get a map actually?
(light music)
This map is like $100.
This one's $180.
Help.
So I'm buying a map because I wanna know
just how reliant my diet is on imports
versus local when I'm not making a conscious effort.
It's just a map of shame, to be honest.
On my map, I'm gonna be tracking
where the product was produced.
I'm not really gonna go into like the middle people
where everything, if it's been like in different places.
And I should also put like a really big red pin
or something where I am.
I am in Toronto ish.
And then, I guess we'll just catch up as we go
and see where everything's coming from.
So to make sure that I didn't forget what I ate,
I kept a diary of sorts
so that I could refer back to it when looking at my map.
On day one, I kept breakfast pretty simple
and ate cereal and milk.
And I learned that they make Cinnamon Toast Crunch
in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
I did skip lunch this day.
Oops.
Later that day, I made a bowl of instant ramen
and realized that I put a lot of stuff in it.
I should've thought of that earlier
because I realized I had to track down
where everything in this bowl of ramen was from.
My pins started to spread across my map pretty fast.
From Indonesia, China, to Ontario,
and this was only day one.
The cup of tea that I had the next day
also cost me a lotta kilometres.
Cardamom from Guatemala,
tea leaves from Sri Lanka,
peppercorns from Vietnam.
Now, some ingredients were a lot easier to find than others.
Like my coffee was pretty simple.
The beans are from Columbia.
But at other times, it was really difficult
to figure out where something was produced
and not just packaged.
While I was eating, I was also researching,
trying to figure out just how bad imported foods could be
for the environment.
So I continued to map out everything
and try to keep it as accurate as possible.
But I did become kind of worried as I placed more pins
on my map and see different regions begin
to populate with pins.
And by day three, my map was looking quite full
and feelings were pretty bad.
But wait a second.
Should I feel bad?
Okay, hello.
It's the middle of the week
and I have been tracking where my food comes from.
I always thought that eating local was better
for the environment.
You know, makes sense.
But I'm pretty sure I'm wrong.
Let me explain.
Take a look at this chart.
It maps the greenhouse gas emissions produced
at different parts of some food supply chains,
like farming, processing, and packaging.
If you take a closer look,
you'll notice that transportation regularly produces
some of the least greenhouse gas emissions in the chain
for any food.
Now, it's worth noting that different methods
of transportation can have different degrees
of environmental impact.
For example, airplane travel produces
50 times more carbon dioxide emissions
than transport by boat.
But overall, the emissions from transportation
are often overshadowed by the farming techniques
used to produced the food in the first place.
So if you're looking to reduce
your food's environmental impact,
buying local food
may not be the most effective way to do that.
Instead, we should focus on the practises involved
in production and specifically,
how industrialised the process is,
whether it's local or abroad.
Industrialised agriculture relies on heavy machinery,
highly specialized crops, and pesticides
to maximize yields.
But the harvest comes with a cost.
Heavy machines like tractors, ploughs, and harrows
displace and compress health topsoil,
making it difficult for the soil
to absorb nutrients and water.
Monocrops reduce biodiversity
and diminish the nutrients and overall quality of the soil.
They're also more susceptible to pests,
resulting in the need to spray crops with pesticides.
Those pesticides kill the targeted pests,
but also kills non-targeted species,
like the microbes in the soil needed to keep soil healthy.
Together, they create a cycle of damage
where notably, locality doesn't play a role.
It might be useful shorthand for nonindustrial practises,
but remember that local farms aren't exempt
from the destructive practises of industrial agriculture.
Well, there you have it.
I guess my original idea was kind of a fail,
but I don't think it was a complete waste of time
because I was still able to visualize
where all of my food comes from, which is really important.
And I think, I guess, that is what I had intended to do.
But if I actually wanted to estimate
the environmental impact of my food,
just looking at the region
of where my food comes from isn't enough.
I'd have to go and research the farms
where they were produced.
I'm so sad about this.
(light music continues)
It's fine, though.
It's fine, we're gonna make it better.
Okay, okay, new plan.
Rather than wallowing in sadness over my map,
let's figure out how we can actually make
better purchase decisions.
So I'm gonna try to come up with a list of things
to look out for when we're at the grocery store
of ways that we can minimize the environmental impact
of my food.
So when researching to put this list together,
I actually drew a lot of inspiration
from this documentary.
I highly recommend it and I'll put a link
in the description so you can watch it if you'd like.
All right, get your pens and paper ready.
It's list time.
So first, was the product grown
with excessive use of pesticides?
Now, if you have the option, ask.
I know, talking to people is scary,
but the more you know about how your food's being grown,
the better you can feel about what you're buying
and what you're eating.
Second, was it transported by air?
Now, products aren't usually labelled with that information,
but you might be able to tell if the item
is highly perishable and it's from far away.
So things like berries, asparagus.
That's also why they can be so expensive.
Next, did it come from a region
with limited access to water?
Now, obviously, farming requires water,
but in places like India, China, Australia,
Spain, and the United States, notably California,
where access to water is limited,
farming is wreaking havoc on the environment.
Now, lastly, and I think this is the most important one,
are you gonna use what you buy?
'Cause at this point, it's not just the food
that's going to waste.
It's all of the energy and the resources
that were required so that you could get it on your plate.
Well, these are just a couple of things
that you can look into when you're making your trip
to the grocery store.
I covered a lot of stuff,
but I feel like I only scratched the surface
of things that you could be thinking about
when making your food purchases.
Obviously, there's a lot of different variables
that depend on where you're eating, where you live,
and I didn't even touch on the social side of things,
like how equitable it is for these farmers.
I'm not gonna completely stop buying imported foods
and foods that are from far away,
but I'm gonna try to be more conscious
of how I use them and make sure
that if I do buy these things that have a high impact,
that maybe I buy it less often.
But I get it, as a consumer,
it can feel so overwhelming to have to think
about all of these things when you're going
to the grocery store, just trying to pick up stuff
to make breakfast or make dinner or whatever.
But I don't think that that should dissuade us
from trying our best to do what we can.
Bye.
Wait, hello, don't leave just yet.
We still have an ad read.
You gotta stick around for that, thank you.
And action.
(hands clapping)
Nice.
I hope you liked that video.
And if you did, please stick around
because we are thanking Hello Fresh
for sponsoring today's video.
"What is Hello Fresh?" you might ask.
Well, they are a meal kit delivery service.
Now, why would someone who likes to cook
want a meal kit delivery service?
Well, sometimes you wanna try new recipes,
but you just don't have the time
to go to the grocery store, plan it, yada yada yada.
And that's where Hello Fresh comes in.
They make it as easy as possible for you.
They pre-portion everything,
so there's less prep,
and also that means that you know that you're gonna be using
everything that they give you.
So that means no wasted food.
Let's talk about saving the environment, woo.
What's really great about Hello Fresh
is that they're really flexible with their meal plans.
And you can customise your box to fit your lifestyle.
Also, honestly, who doesn't like to receive a package?
And when it's food, sign me up.
Lastly, Hello Fresh is dedicated to giving back
to the community.
In 2020 alone, they donated
over four million meals to charity.
And they're staying committed to doing that
in these wild times.
Is it time for a taste test?
I've been snacking on this.
I've never had this before actually.
It's halloumi and like a grain salad.
(dinosaur roaring)
Go to hellofresh.com and use our code, answerinprogress12,
to receive, I don't have enough fingers for this,
to receive 12 free meals,
including free shipping.
Did I do it?
I think I did it.
I'm gonna keep eating the salad.
(upbeat music continues)