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

Our homes are responsible for a growing percentage of overall carbon emissions, as our use of new electronic gadgets grows, we continue to leave devices running on standby (responsible for 10% of our energy bills!), and waste precious heat and resources. Fortunately there are a lot of things we can do to lower our carbon footprints in our home, including improving energy efficiency, installing renewable energy, recycling, and using more efficient appliances. Click the picture to the right to search our interactive domestic environment. - Description added by: David Lockie