Swedes listing carbon emissions on food labels

An estimated 25 percent of the emissions produced by people in industrialized countries can be traced to the food they eat, according to recent research in Sweden. Per this New York Times article, new labels listing the carbon dioxide emissions associated with the production of foods, from whole wheat pasta to fast food burgers, are appearing on some grocery items and restaurant menus around Sweden with the goal to cut the country's emissions from food production by 50 percent. Citizens are asked to substitute beans for meat which isn't a surprise since cattle was noted by the United Nations organization to produce more greenhouse gases than transportation, and a recent WorldWatch Institute Study including recent analysis by Goodland and Anhang finds that livestock and their byproducts actually account for at least 32.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year, or 51 percent of annual worldwide GHG emissions.

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