Spring 2009 / Hoofprints

Did you know if you live in the UK, sometimes it’s more environmentally friendly to eat lamb from New Zealand than lamb from Wales? Basically the distance food travels to get to your plate makes up only part of its overall CO2 emissions. Other things like fertilizers used by the lamb farmers can lead to some Welsh lambs having bigger carbon footprints than their Kiwi cousins.

So what can we do? One answer is to simply eat nothing at all. However, early tests in this field show a worringly high proportion of participants who seemed to die.

As with all the big problems in life (war, the environment, which toothbrush dentists really do recommend) there’s no easy answer, but the fact that you’re reading this shows you care, which is the main thing. We aren’t always going to get it right and a lot of this is about education. Educating ourselves but then passing on what we have learned.

This is when it might get tricky, as no one like a goody two sandals looking down at them. So here’s a feww tips…

1) Don’t tell people what they should do, simply tell people what you know and what you do to help.

2) Try to provide a solution, otherwise people tend to get frustrated if you add more problems to the confusion.

3) Don’t tut or ask people to leave if they don’t understand stratight away.

4) Don’t hit either.

5) Try not to show how ‘down with the environment’ you are by having a really good laugh with a cow just before.

 

Words: Ben Harris

Illustration: Marcus Walters