Sustainable consumption

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Sustainable consumption (sometimes abbreviated to "SC") [1] is the use of products and services in ways that minimizes impacts on the environment.

Contents

Sustainable consumption can be undertaken in such a way that needs are met for present-day humans and also for future generations. [2] Sustainable consumption is often paralleled with sustainable production; consumption refers to use and disposal (or recycling) not just by individuals and households, but also by governments, businesses, and other organizations. Sustainable consumption is closely related to sustainable production and sustainable lifestyles. "A sustainable lifestyle minimizes ecological impacts while enabling a flourishing life for individuals, households, communities, and beyond. It is the product of individual and collective decisions about aspirations and about satisfying needs and adopting practices, which are in turn conditioned, facilitated, and constrained by societal norms, political institutions, public policies, infrastructures, markets, and culture." [3]

The United Nations includes analyses of efficiency, infrastructure, and waste, as well as access to basic services, green and decent jobs, and a better quality of life for all within the concept of sustainable consumption. [4] Sustainable consumption shares a number of common features and is closely linked to sustainable production and sustainable development. Sustainable consumption, as part of sustainable development, is part of the worldwide struggle against sustainability challenges such as climate change, resource depletion, famines, and environmental pollution.

Sustainable development as well as sustainable consumption rely on certain premises such as:

Goal 12 of the Sustainable Development Goals seeks to "ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns". [5]

Consumption shifting

Studies found that systemic change for "decarbonization" of humanity's economic structures [6] or root-cause system changes above politics are required [7] for a substantial impact on global warming. Such changes may result in more sustainable lifestyles, along with associated products, services and expenditures, [8] being structurally supported and becoming sufficiently prevalent and effective in terms of collective greenhouse gas emission reductions.

Nevertheless, ethical consumerism usually only refers to individual choices, and not the consumption behavior and/or import and consumption policies by the decision-making of nation-states. These have however been compared for road vehicles, CO2 emissions (albeit without considering emissions embedded in imports) and meat consumption per capita as well as by overconsumption. [9]

Life-cycle assessments could assess the comparative sustainability and overall environmental impacts of products – including (but not limited to): "raw materials, extraction, processing and transport; manufacturing; delivery and installation; customer use; and end of life (such as disposal or recycling)". [10]

Sustainable food consumption

Per capita annual meat consumption by region Per capita annual meat consumption by region.png
Per capita annual meat consumption by region
Life-cycle assessment of GHG emissions for foods Environmental-impact-of-food-by-life-cycle-stage.png
Life-cycle assessment of GHG emissions for foods
Average greenhouse gas emissions by food product Average greenhouse gas emissions associated with different food products.png
Average greenhouse gas emissions by food product
Non-intervention in processes related to beef (and soy) production via policies may be a main driver of tropical deforestation. Amazon Rainforest, Brazil Timelapse 1984-2018.gif
Non-intervention in processes related to beef (and soy) production via policies may be a main driver of tropical deforestation.

The environmental impacts of meat production (and dairy) are large: raising animals for human consumption accounts for approximately 40% of the total amount of agricultural output in industrialized countries. Grazing occupies 26% of the Earth's ice-free terrestrial surface, and feed crop production uses about one third of all arable land. [16] A global food emissions database shows that food systems are responsible for one third of the global anthropogenic GHG emissions. [17] [18] Moreover, there can be competition for resources, such as land, between growing crops for human consumption and growing crops for animals, also referred to as "food vs. feed" (see also: food security). [19] [20]

Therefore, sustainable consumption also includes food consumption – shifting to more sustainable diets.

Novel foods such as under-development [21] cultured meat and dairy, existing small-scale microbial foods and ground-up insects (see also: pet food and animal feed) [22] are shown to have the potential to reduce environmental impacts by over 80% in a study. [23] [24] Many studies such as a 2019 IPCC report [25] and a 2022 review about meat and sustainability of food systems, animal welfare, and healthy nutrition concluded that meat consumption has to be reduced substantially for sustainable consumption. The review names broad potential measures such as "restrictions or fiscal mechanisms". [26] [11] In June 2023, science advisors in the European Commission's Scientific Advice Mechanism came to the identical conclusion, finding that "our diets need to shift towards more plant-based ingredients, rich in vegetables, fruits, wholegrains and pulses. Our diets should be limited in red meat, processed meat, salt, added sugar, and high-fat animal products, while fish and seafood should be sourced from sustainably managed stocks". [27]

A considerable proportion of consumers of food produced by the food system may be non-livestock animals such as pet-dogs: the global dog population is estimated to be 900 million, [28] [29] [ needs update ] of which around 20% are regarded as owned pets. [30] [ needs update ] Sustainable consumption may also involve their feed. Beyond reduction of meat consumption, the composition of livestock feed and fish feed may also be subject of sustainable consumption shifts.

Product labels

Labels of sustainability standards and certification such as organic food and energy efficiency class labels are often intended to confirm compliance with relevant social and environmental considerations, enabling consumers and other purchasers to make more ethical decisions in terms of the environmental impact of products.

Labels such as the European Eco-label and those issued by sustainability standards organisations may be used by businesses and public bodies to confirm compliance. Public procurement regulations in the European Union and the United Kingdom require that label requirements only include those which are "linked to the subject-matter of the contract". [31]

In June 2023, the Scientific Advice Mechanism to the European Commission concluded that the effectiveness of food labelling related to health impacts was "low to moderate" according to available evidence, and that "shaping the information environment through labelling is necessary but not sufficient to advance healthy and sustainable diets". [32]

The approach of labels can involve a trade-off between financial considerations and higher cost requirements in effort or time for the product-selection from the many available options. [33]

The app CodeCheck gives versed smartphone users some capability to scan ingredients in food, drinks and cosmetics for filtering out some of the products that are legal but nevertheless unhealthy or unsustainable from their consumption/purchases. [34] A similar "personal shopping assistant" has been investigated in a study. [35] Studies indicated a low level of use of sustainability labels on food. [36] Moreover, existing labels have been intensely criticized for invalidity or unreliability, often amounting to greenwashing or being ineffective. [10] [37] [38]

In one study, individuals were given a set budget, "which could be spent once a week on a wide range of food and drink products", then data "on each item's carbon footprint was clearly presented, and individuals could view the [unlimited] carbon footprint of their supermarket basket on their shopping bill." [39]

The processes of consumption

Not only selection, quantity and quality of consumed products may be of relevance to sustainable consumption, the process of consumption, including how selected products are distributed or gathered could be considered a component of it as well: for instance, ordering from a local store online could substantially reduce CO2 emissions (in terms of transportation emissions and when not considering which options are available). [40] Bundling items could reduce carbon emissions of deliveries and carbon footprints of in-person shopping-trips can be eliminated e.g. by biking to the shop instead of driving. [40]

Product information transparency and trade control

Comparison of footprint-based and transboundary pollution-based relationships among G20 nations for the number of PM2.5-related premature deaths. Comparison of footprint-based and transboundary pollution-based relationships among G20 nations for the number of PM2.5-related premature deaths.webp
Comparison of footprint-based and transboundary pollution-based relationships among G20 nations for the number of PM2.5-related premature deaths.

If information is linked to products e.g. via a digital product passport, along with proper architecture and governance for data sharing and data protection, it could help achieve climate neutrality and foster dematerialization. [42] In the EU, a Digital Product Passport is being developed. When there is an increase in greenhouse gas emissions in one country as a result of an emissions reduction by a second country with a strict climate policy this is referred to as carbon leakage. [43] In the EU, the proposed Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism could help mitigate this problem, [44] and possibly increase the capacity to account for imported pollution/harm/death-footprints. Footprints of nondomestic production are significant: for instance, a study concluded that PM2.5 air pollution induced by the contemporary free trade and consumption by the 19 G20 nations causes two million premature deaths annually, suggesting that the average lifetime consumption of about ~28 people in these countries causes at least one premature death (average age ~67) while developing countries "cannot be expected" to implement or be able to implement countermeasures without external support or internationally coordinated efforts. [45] [41]

Transparency of supply chains is important for global goals [46] such as ending net-deforestation. [47] [48] [49] [46] Policy-options for reducing imported deforestation also include "Lower/raise import tariffs for sustainably/unsustainably produced commodities" and "Regulate imports, e.g., through quotas, bans, or preferential access agreements". [50] However, several theories of change of policy options rely on (true / reliable) information being available/provided to "shift demand—both intermediate and final—either away from imported [forest-risk commodities (FRC)] completely, e.g., through diet shifts (IC1), or to sustainably produced FRCs, e.g., through voluntary or mandatory supply-chain transparency (IS1, RS2)." [50]

As of 2021, one approach under development is binary "labelling" of investments as "green" according to an EU governmental body-created "taxonomy" for voluntarily financial investment redirection/guidance based on this categorization. [51] The company Dayrize is one organization that attempts to accurately assess environmental and social impacts of consumer products. [52]

Reliable evaluations and categorizations of products may enable measures such as policy-combinations that include transparent criteria-based eco-tariffs, bans (import control), support of selected production and subsidies which shifts, rather than mainly reduces, consumption. International sanctions during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine included restrictions on Russian fossil fuel imports while supporting alternatives, albeit these sanctions were not based

on environment-related qualitative criteria of the products.

Fairness and income/spending freedoms

The bottom half of the population is directly responsible for less than 20% of energy footprints and consume less than the top 5% in terms of trade-corrected energy. High-income individuals usually have higher energy footprints as they disproportionally use their larger financial resources which they can usually spend freely in their entirety for any purpose as long as the end user purchase is legal for energy-intensive goods. In particular, the largest disproportionality was identified to be in the domain of transport, where e.g. the top 10% consume 56% of vehicle fuel and conduct 70% of vehicle purchases. [53]

Techniques and approaches

Choice editing refers to the active process of controlling or limiting the choices available to consumers.

Personal Carbon Allowances (PCAs) refers to technology-based schemes to ration GHG emissions. [54]

Degrowth

Degrowth refers to economic paradigms that address the need to reduce global consumption and production whereby metrics and mechanisms like GDP are replaced by more reality-attached measures such as of health, social and environmental well-being and more needs-based [55] [56] [57] structures. Broadly, degrowth would or does aim to address overconsumption "by addressing real need, reducing wants, ensuring greater distributive equality and ultimately by suppressing production", [58] or "downscaling of production and consumption that increases human wellbeing and enhances [i.e. "grows"] ecological conditions and equity on the planet". [59]

A common denominator of degrowth is a decline in the metric GDP. More concrete degrowth proposals are diverse, dispersed throughout the growing body of literature and include:

  • "reducing and redistributing income alone" along with GHG-pricing [60] and wealth redistribution into a global food systems transformation [61]
  • One tool that could possibly be used in large-scale policies[ citation needed ] is an app that "will guide users to prioritize reduction in high-footprint categories". [59]
  • Another broad proposal suggests that "different roles of labour, work, and action should be acknowledged and scrutinized in detail" which could prompt or be necessary for an "organization of an alternative society" [62] (see also: green job, life-cycle assessment, certification and job evaluation)
  • Consumption such as "domestic water consumption" could be [made to be] considered as a collectively ordered activity [62] especially when such data and contextual education is available the respective collective.[ citation needed ]

Demonetized activities [as well as currently financially unrewarded and unprofitable activities] are important for degrowth. [62]

Degrowth also emphasizes the need to 'degrow' various sectors of the economy without a negative connotation [56] usually associated with such measures such as at least temporary job-loss. If no immediate retraining occurs, leisure time may increase at least temporarily.[ citation needed ] There are some suggestions that in general, increases in leisure time do not per se translate to increased sustainability – in particular that some time saved did not decrease total distance of car travel. [63] [ clarification needed ][ additional citation(s) needed ]

A study suggests that the concepts of sharing economy and circular economy on their own, while useful as broad components, are insufficient and ineffective. [64]

Economic concepts by which scholarly literature approaches problems such as overconsumption, using this terminology to characterize broad, typically conceptual-stage, solution-proposals include: [65] [66]

Strong and weak sustainable consumption

Some writers make a distinction between "strong" and "weak" sustainability. [67]

In 1992, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also referred to as the Earth Summit, recognized sustainable consumption as a concept. [69] It also recognized the difference between strong and weak sustainable consumption but set efforts away from strong sustainable consumption. [68]

The 1992 Earth Summit found that sustainable consumption rather than sustainable development was the center of political discourse[ clarification needed ]. [69] Currently, strong sustainable consumption is only present in minimal precincts[ clarification needed ] of discussion and research. International government organizations’ (IGOs) prerogatives have kept away from strong sustainable consumption.[ clarification needed ] To avoid scrutiny,[ clarification needed ] IGOs have deemed their influences[ clarification needed ] as limited, often aligning its[ clarification needed ] interests with consumer wants and needs. [68] In doing so, they advocate for minimal eco-efficient improvements, resulting in government skepticism[ clarification needed ] and minimal commitments to strong sustainable consumption efforts. [70]

In order to achieve sustainable consumption, two developments have to take place: an increase in the efficiency of consumption, and a change in consumption patterns and reductions in consumption levels in industrialized countries and rich social classes in developing countries which have a large ecological footprint and set an example for increasing middle classes in developing countries.[ clarification needed ] [71] The first prerequisite is not sufficient on its own and qualifies as weak sustainable consumption. Technological improvements and eco-efficiency support a reduction in resource consumption. Once this aim has been met, the second prerequisite, the change in patterns and reduction of levels of consumption is indispensable. Strong sustainable consumption approaches also pay attention to the social dimension of well-being and assess the need for changes based on a risk-averse perspective.[ clarification needed ] [72] In order to achieve strong sustainable consumption, changes in infrastructures as well as the choices customers have are required. In the political arena, weak sustainable consumption is more discussed. [68]

The so-called attitude-behaviour or values-action gap describes an obstacle to changes in individual customer behavior. Many consumers are aware of the importance of their consumption choices and care about environmental issues, however most do not translate their concerns into their consumption patterns. This is because the purchase decision process is complicated and relies on e.g. social, political, and psychological factors. Young et al. identified a lack of time for research, high prices, a lack of information, and the cognitive effort needed as the main barriers when it comes to green consumption choices. [73]

In the early twentieth century, especially during the interwar period, families turned to sustainable consumption. [74] When unemployment began to stretch resources, American working-class families increasingly became dependent on secondhand goods, such as clothing, tools, and furniture. [74] Used items offered entry into consumer culture, and they also provided investment value and enhancements to wage-earning capabilities. [74] The Great Depression saw increases in the number of families forced to turn to cast-off clothing. When wages became desperate, employers offered clothing replacements as a substitute for earnings. In response, fashion trends decelerated[ clarification needed ] as high-end clothing became a luxury.

During the rapid expansion of post-war suburbia, families turned to new levels of mass consumption. Following the SPI[ clarification needed ] conference of 1956, plastic corporations were quick to enter the mass consumption market of post-war America. [75] During this period companies like Dixie began to replace reusable products with disposable containers (plastic items and metals). Unaware of how to dispose of containers, consumers began to throw waste across public spaces and national parks. [75] Following a Vermont State Legislature ban on disposable glass products, plastic corporations banded together to form the Keep America Beautiful organization in order to encourage individual actions and discourage regulation. [75] The organization teamed with schools and government agencies to spread the anti-litter message. Running public service announcements like "Susan Spotless," the organization encouraged consumers to dispose waste in designated areas.

Culture shifts

Ecological awareness

There is a growing recognition that human well-being is interwoven with the natural environment, as well as an interest to change human activities that cause environmental harm.[ clarification needed ] [76] This is evident in the United Nations Paris Agreement goal of maintaining average global warming to optimistically 1.5 °C, and at least below a threshold of 2.0 °C. [77] Western culture tends to celebrate consumer sovereignty and free market solutions to political economy problems. [78] Yet climate change, and the associated tragedy of the global atmospheric commons, represent a large market failure. [79] There are at least three options for achieving cultural shifts and greater ecological awareness. Private solutions labeled as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strive to incorporate sustainability concerns into market supply and demand forces by increasing the transparency of productive processes, as well as awareness of ecological footprints of consumption. [80] Public solutions apply regulatory frameworks such as the cap and trade system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. [79] An alternative approach adopts polycentric governance strategies across governmental institutions and non-governmental organizations to achieve greater citizen engagement and self-governance systems. [81] Increasing levels of sustainable consumption to contribute to United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12 will likely require supportive educational resources. [82] [83]

Support for education on sustainable consumption as a priority for respondents to the European Investment Bank Climate Survey. Education on sustainable consumption should be prioritised. More specifically, concerning consumption, which two actions should be prioritised to combat climate change%3F.svg
Support for education on sustainable consumption as a priority for respondents to the European Investment Bank Climate Survey.

Surveys ranking consumer values such as environmental, social, and sustainability, showed sustainable consumption values to be particularly low. [84] Surveys on environmental awareness saw an increase in perceived “eco-friendly” behavior. When tasked to reduce energy consumption, empirical research found that individuals are only willing to make minimal sacrifices and fail to reach strong sustainable consumption requirements. [85] IGOs are not motivated to adopt sustainable policy decisions, since consumer demands may not meet the requirements of sustainable consumption.

Ethnographic research across Europe concluded that post-Financial crisis of 2007–2008 Ireland saw an increase in secondhand shopping and communal gardening. [86] Following a series of financial scandals, Anti-Austerity became a cultural movement. Irish consumer confidence fell, sparking a cultural shift in second-hand markets and charities, stressing sustainability and drawing on a narrative surrounding economic recovery[ clarification needed ]. [84]

Sustainable Development Goals

The Sustainable Development Goals were established by the United Nations in 2015. SDG 12 is meant to "ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns". [87] Specifically, targets 12.1 and 12.A of SDG 12 aim to implement frameworks and support developing countries in order to "move towards more sustainable patterns of consumption and production". [87]

Notable conferences and programs

See also

Related Research Articles

Sustainable development is an approach to growth and human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The aim is to have a society where living conditions and resources meet human needs without undermining planetary integrity. Sustainable development aims to balance the needs of the economy, environment, and social well-being. The Brundtland Report in 1987 helped to make the concept of sustainable development better known.

Overconsumption describes a situation where a consumer overuses their available goods and services to where they can't, or don't want to, replenish or reuse them. In microeconomics, this may be described as the point where the marginal cost of a consumer is greater than their marginal utility. The term overconsumption is quite controversial in use and does not necessarily have a single unifying definition. When used to refer to natural resources to the point where the environment is negatively affected, it is synonymous with the term overexploitation. However, when used in the broader economic sense, overconsumption can refer to all types of goods and services, including manmade ones, e.g. "the overconsumption of alcohol can lead to alcohol poisoning". Overconsumption is driven by several factors of the current global economy, including forces like consumerism, planned obsolescence, economic materialism, and other unsustainable business models and can be contrasted with sustainable consumption.

The ecological footprint measures human demand on natural capital, i.e. the quantity of nature it takes to support people and their economies. It tracks human demand on nature through an ecological accounting system. The accounts contrast the biologically productive area people use to satisfy their consumption to the biologically productive area available within a region, nation, or the world (biocapacity). Biocapacity is the productive area that can regenerate what people demand from nature. Therefore, the metric is a measure of human impact on the environment. As Ecological Footprint accounts measure to what extent human activities operate within the means of our planet, they are a central metric for sustainability.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plant-based diet</span> Diet consisting mostly or entirely of plant-based foods

A plant-based diet is a diet consisting mostly or entirely of plant-based foods. Plant-based diets encompass a wide range of dietary patterns that contain low amounts of animal products and high amounts of fiber-rich plant products such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. They do not need to be vegan or vegetarian, but are defined in terms of low frequency of animal food consumption.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carbon footprint</span> Concept to quantify greenhouse gas emissions from activities or products

A carbon footprint (or greenhouse gas footprint) is a calculated value or index that makes it possible to compare the total amount of greenhouse gases that an activity, product, company or country adds to the atmosphere. Carbon footprints are usually reported in tonnes of emissions (CO2-equivalent) per unit of comparison. Such units can be for example tonnes CO2-eq per year, per kilogram of protein for consumption, per kilometer travelled, per piece of clothing and so forth. A product's carbon footprint includes the emissions for the entire life cycle. These run from the production along the supply chain to its final consumption and disposal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Food miles</span> Distance food is transported from production to consumption

Food miles is the distance food is transported from the time of its making until it reaches the consumer. Food miles are one factor used when testing the environmental impact of food, such as the carbon footprint of the food.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environmental vegetarianism</span> Type of practice of vegetarianism

Environmental vegetarianism is the practice of vegetarianism that is motivated by the desire to create a sustainable diet, which avoids the negative environmental impact of meat production. Livestock as a whole is estimated to be responsible for around 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions. As a result, significant reduction in meat consumption has been advocated by, among others, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in their 2019 special report and as part of the 2017 World Scientists' Warning to Humanity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable food system</span> Balanced growth of nutritional substances and their distribution

A sustainable food system is a type of food system that provides healthy food to people and creates sustainable environmental, economic, and social systems that surround food. Sustainable food systems start with the development of sustainable agricultural practices, development of more sustainable food distribution systems, creation of sustainable diets, and reduction of food waste throughout the system. Sustainable food systems have been argued to be central to many or all 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Low-carbon diet</span> Diet to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

A low-carbon diet is any diet that results in lower greenhouse gas emissions. Choosing a low carbon diet is one facet of developing sustainable diets which increase the long-term sustainability of humanity. Major tenets of a low-carbon diet include eating a plant-based diet, and in particular little or no beef and dairy. Low-carbon diets differ around the world in taste, style, and the frequency they are eaten. Asian countries like India and China feature vegetarian and vegan meals as staples in their diets. In contrast, Europe and North America rely on animal products for their Western diets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environmental impacts of animal agriculture</span> Impact of farming animals on the environment

The environmental impacts of animal agriculture vary because of the wide variety of agricultural practices employed around the world. Despite this, all agricultural practices have been found to have a variety of effects on the environment to some extent. Animal agriculture, in particular meat production, can cause pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss, disease, and significant consumption of land, food, and water. Meat is obtained through a variety of methods, including organic farming, free-range farming, intensive livestock production, and subsistence agriculture. The livestock sector also includes wool, egg and dairy production, the livestock used for tillage, and fish farming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable diet</span> Diet that contributes to the broader environmental and social sustainability

Sustainable diets are "dietary patterns that promote all dimensions of individuals’ health and wellbeing; have low environmental pressure and impact; are accessible, affordable, safe and equitable; and are culturally acceptable". These diets are nutritious, eco-friendly, economically sustainable, and accessible to people of various socioeconomic backgrounds. Sustainable diets attempt to address nutrient deficiencies and excesses, while accounting for ecological phenomena such as climate change, loss of biodiversity and land degradation. These diets are comparable to the climatarian diet, with the added domains of economic sustainability and accessiblity.

Degrowth is an academic and social movement critical of the hegemony of economic growth perpetuated by capitalism, and calls for an equitable and democratically-led downscaling of production and consumption in industrialised countries as a means to achieve environmental sustainability, social justice and well-being. Degrowth theory is based on ideas and research from a multitude of disciplines such as economics, economic anthropology, ecological economics, environmental sciences, and development studies. It argues that the unitary focus of modern capitalism on growth, in terms of the monetary value of aggregate goods and services, causes widespread ecological damage and is not necessary for the further increase of human living standards. Degrowth theory has been met with both academic acclaim and considerable criticism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainability</span> Goal of people safely co-existing on Earth

Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions : environmental, economic, and social. Many definitions emphasize the environmental dimension. This can include addressing key environmental problems, including climate change and biodiversity loss. The idea of sustainability can guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels. A related concept is that of sustainable development, and the terms are often used to mean the same thing. UNESCO distinguishes the two like this: "Sustainability is often thought of as a long-term goal, while sustainable development refers to the many processes and pathways to achieve it."

The term food system describes the interconnected systems and processes that influence nutrition, food, health, community development, and agriculture. A food system includes all processes and infrastructure involved in feeding a population: growing, harvesting, processing, packaging, transporting, marketing, consumption, distribution, and disposal of food and food-related items. It also includes the inputs needed and outputs generated at each of these steps. Food systems fall within agri-food systems, which encompass the entire range of actors and their interlinked value-adding activities in the primary production of food and non-food agricultural products, as well as in food storage, aggregation, post-harvest handling, transportation, processing, distribution, marketing, disposal, and consumption. A food system operates within and is influenced by social, political, economic, technological and environmental contexts. It also requires human resources that provide labor, research and education. Food systems are either conventional or alternative according to their model of food lifespan from origin to plate. Food systems are dependent on a multitude of ecosystem services. For example, natural pest regulations, microorganisms providing nitrogen-fixation, and pollinators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Micro-sustainability</span> Individual or small scale sustainability efforts

Micro-sustainability is the portion of sustainability centered around small scale environmental measures that ultimately affect the environment through a larger cumulative impact. Micro-sustainability centers on individual efforts, behavior modification, education and creating attitudinal changes, which result in an environmentally conscious individual. Micro-sustainability encourages sustainable changes through "change agents"—individuals who foster positive environmental action locally and inside their sphere of influence. Examples of micro-sustainability include recycling, power saving by turning off unused lights, programming thermostats for efficient use of energy, reducing water usage, changing commuting habits to use less fossil fuels or modifying buying habits to reduce consumption and waste. The emphasis of micro-sustainability is on an individual's actions, rather than organizational or institutional practices at the systemic level. These small local level actions have immediate community benefits if undertaken on a widespread scale and if imitated, they can have a cumulative broad impact.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Individual action on climate change</span> What people can do individually to limit climate change

Individual action on climate change can include personal choices with regards to diet, travel, lifestyle, consumption of goods and services, family size and so on. Individuals can also get active in local and political advocacy work around climate action. People who wish to reduce their carbon footprint, can for example reduce air travel and driving cars, they can eat mainly a plant-based diet, use consumer products for longer, or have fewer children. Avoiding meat and dairy foods has been called "the single biggest way" how an individual can reduce their environmental impact. Scholars find that excessive consumption is more to blame for climate change than population increase. High consumption lifestyles have a greater environmental impact, with the richest 10% of people emitting about half the total lifestyle emissions.

Sustainable consumer behavior is the sub-discipline of consumer behavior that studies why and how consumers do or do not incorporate sustainability priorities into their consumption behavior. It studies the products that consumers select, how those products are used, and how they are disposed of in pursuit of consumers' sustainability goals.

Green consumption is related to sustainable development or sustainable consumer behaviour. It is a form of consumption that safeguards the environment for the present and for future generations. It ascribes to consumers responsibility or co-responsibility for addressing environmental problems through the adoption of environmentally friendly behaviors, such as the use of organic products, clean and renewable energy, and the choice of goods produced by companies with zero, or almost zero, impact.

A meat tax is a tax levied on meat and/or other animal products to help cover the health and environmental costs that result from using animals for food. Livestock is known to significantly contribute to global warming, and to negatively impact global nitrogen cycles and biodiversity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture</span> Agricultures effects on climate change

The amount of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture is significant: The agriculture, forestry and land use sector contribute between 13% and 21% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Emissions come from direct greenhouse gas emissions. and from indirect emissions. With regards to direct emissions, nitrous oxide and methane make up over half of total greenhouse gas emission from agriculture. Indirect emissions on the other hand come from the conversion of non-agricultural land such as forests into agricultural land. Furthermore, there is also fossil fuel consumption for transport and fertilizer production. For example, the manufacture and use of nitrogen fertilizer contributes around 5% of all global greenhouse gas emissions. Livestock farming is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, livestock farming is affected by climate change.

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