Copenhagen, Denmark / San Francisco, CA, September 2, 2013 /3BL Media/ – This year, at René Redzepi’s MAD Symposium, Terrapass and Lucky Peach magazine presented an eye-opening analysis of the carbon footprint of a meal. The MAD Symposium is an annual gathering of the most cutting edge chefs and thinkers in the food industry. This year’s theme centered on courage, urgency and guts which Terrapass and Lucky Peach explored by answering the question “Is it better for the environment to eat at home?”
The analysis looked at the comprehensive carbon footprint of a meal from Noma in Copenhagen, Denmark, Frankie’s Restaurant in New York, NY and a home cooked meal prepared in San Francisco, CA. Due to the results of the footprinting exercise, Noma was inspired to use renewable power for their restaurant, reducing their overall emissions by 30%. The analysis also found that a meal at Frankie’s had only a slightly higher carbon footprint than the meal cooked at home. Moreover, with a few operational adjustments Frankie’s could lower their overall emissions per meal to make it on par with or lower than a home cooked meal.
“There was a palpable excitement for this topic. While sustainability is an embedded value for many restaurants, there has been very little focus on the quantitative environmental impact of eating in restaurants. Our analysis not only included the ingredients, but it also included the entire operation,” said Peter Freed of Terrapass.
Measuring the carbon footprint of a meal is an important tool for restaurants looking at their overall environmental impact. According to Freed, “an easy and low cost first step for restaurants is knowing what their emissions are and where the most efficient and cost effective changes can be made. We want to provide restaurants with the right data to make informed decisions about mitigating the impacts of their operations.”
Stay Tuned: For more information on this topic pick-up the fall issue of Lucky Peach Magazine. Once the magazine is available we will also publish a longer explanation here.
Brought to you by terrapass.com
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