Food is essential to human existence and it is an integral part of a low carbon economy. Food miles, artificial fertilizers, organic production, mono cultures, food vs. fuel and industrialization are all issues for consideration in the wider context of ‘low carbon food’. Growing food increasingly relies on agro-industry using machinery, pesticides, artificial fertilizers and even genetic modification.

Even simple food crops now have significant embedded carbon factor, and the carbon cost of agriculture is further increased by factors such as clearing of natural habitats to make room for farming (and the subsequent loss of biodiversity), the use of mono cultures that damage the land (and cause future reliance on technologically-driven agriculture) and transportation of the produce. On the other hand, agriculture can also provide bio-fuels and biomass which are sure to play a part in the future energy mix. - Description added by: David Lockie

Buildings are where the majority people in modern societies spend most of their time, whether in homes, commercial buildings, industrial facilities or retail complexes. The design and construction of buildings require a large investment of time, money and other resources. Then they require additional resources for running costs and maintenance. Bad design can greatly increase energy consumption over the whole lifetime of the building. Fortunately, good building design can greatly reduce energy consumption during construction and ongoing throughout a building's life. - Description added by: David Lockie