Dubai, United Arab Emirates: This Ramadan, Dubai Carbon is giving Dubai residents the opportunity to become more aware of their carbon ‘foodprint’ with the launch of the first online, food carbon calculator in the UAE, on the TheSustainabilist.ae. Dubai residents can now move from just counting calories, and also calculate the carbon emissions of their diet.
The easy to use, online carbon calculator Food Print, shines a light on sustainability within food consumption and emissions in the Middle East, an area that often gets overlooked by energy and plastic sustainability initiatives.
Launching in the holy month of Ramadan, a time in the year which is centered around reflection and re-evaluation, Dubai Carbon is hoping to educate people about food emissions, by giving them easy access to discover what foods are the most carbon intensive, how to avoid using them, and how to replace them with more sustainable options.
Chairman of Dubai Carbon Eng. Waleed Bin Salman commented: “Emissions from food contribute to 13.5% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide annually, which I think most people will be surprised to discover. Making simple changes to the type of foods that people buy and cook can really make a huge difference to the UAE’s total carbon emissions.”
“The Food Print calculator will help people become more aware about the types of food that are impacting the sustainability of our planet. Beef is just one of the foods that is a huge contributor to carbon emissions. For example, if you eat beef in your diet twice a week, this will contribute 601kg to the UAE’s greenhouse gas emissions annually, which is the equivalent to driving a petrol car 2,468km. Making a simple switch in your diet from eating beef to eating chicken, would save 500kg of greenhouse gas emissions annually.” he added.
For more information about the Food Print calculator and to discover how you can make more sustainable food choices this Ramadan and throughout the year, please visit Dubai Carbon’s online sustainability magazine, www.TheSustainabilist.ae/Ramadan