Climate Friendly Food - what to measure
How would you describe yourself
| 63% (76) | Farmer or grower | |
|---|---|---|
| 19% (23) | Food wholesaler or retailer | |
| 30% (36) | Consumer | |
| 8% (10) | Food related organisation | |
| 10% (13) | Researcher | |
| 5% (6) | Other |
120 voters have answered this question.
Carbon offsetting is a commonly used practice that, over time, renders a carbon-generating activity carbon neutral. However this practice is questionable, and doesn't reduce emissions at source. How is it possible for food grown in Britain to be carbon-neutral or carbon-sequestering (that is absorbing more carbon than it is emitting) without offsetting practices? (tick as many as appropriate)
| 83% (99) | Having a closed farm (creating most of your own fertility) and selling locally | |
|---|---|---|
| 87% (104) | Substituting fossil fuels with renewable energy | |
| 86% (103) | Increasing soil organic matter levels | |
| 87% (104) | Increasing perennial plants e.g. hedgerows and trees | |
| 86% (103) | Improving on farm waste management practices | |
| 78% (94) | Recycling of community wastes e.g. garden wastes | |
| 53% (64) | Recycling of humanure (not currently allowed under organic certification) |
119 voters have answered this question.
In Britain we live in a country that imports 40% of its food and 80% of its timber. Through the use of carbon footprinting of farms â how can we improve land efficiency and make ourselves more self-sufficient? (tick three most important)
| 44% (52) | Setting national targets for carbon reduction based on consumption | |
|---|---|---|
| 39% (47) | Carbon rationing for individuals | |
| 39% (47) | Carbon rationing for businesses | |
| 72% (85) | Localisation of the economy | |
| 64% (76) | Individual action e.g. buying local | |
| 59% (70) | Change of diet |
118 voters have answered this question.
What are the marketing advantages / disadvantages for farms having carbon standards based on a traffic light system? Red = carbon improver. Amber = carbon-neutral. Green = carbon sequester
| 42% (50) | Could bring real market advantages for those meeting the standard | |
|---|---|---|
| 64% (77) | Needs wide scale customer recognition to work | |
| 8% (10) | Links in with the current nutritional traffic light system | |
| 50% (60) | Could be too confusing with other current labelling schemes (e.g. nutritional traffic light system) | |
| 33% (40) | Needs integrating with the organic standards to work effectively | |
| 57% (68) | It would be better if organic became synonymous with low carbon |
119 voters have answered this question.
In measuring a farm's carbon footprint â what part of the farm should be measured? Including the entire farm would embrace woodland and amenity grassland, which can act as carbon sinks. However, this can cause problems to some - for example many tenant farmers and small holders are unable to plant trees. Which is the best measure?
| 62% (72) | The entire farm including woodlands and amenity grassland | |
|---|---|---|
| 37% (44) | Only areas involved in food production as this will be an incentive towards optimum productivity |
116 voters have answered this question.
Global warming potential is measured as Carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), to take account of the varying warming potential of greenhouse gases. The main greenhouse gases associated with food production are carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. The first two are fairly straight forward to measure. Nitrous oxide has a huge warming potential, but is notoriously difficult to measure. How should nitrous oxide be included in the carbon standards for organic farms?
| 76% (87) | The best available data should be used, so including nitrous oxide emissions in the standards, continually updating the standards when better information becomes available. | |
|---|---|---|
| 23% (26) | The issue is too complex so nitrous oxides should be omitted from the standards at the moment |
113 voters have answered this question.
In measuring a farm's carbon footprint â what principles do we use to measure the carbon sink potential from trees and hedges?
| 84% (94) | We should look at best available information including size, maturity and below ground rooting systems | |
|---|---|---|
| 15% (17) | These should not be included as regular trimming and pruning offset any carbon sinks |
111 voters have answered this question.
In measuring a farm's carbon footprint â what principles do we use to measure the carbon sink potential from grassland and green manures?
| 88% (97) | We should come up with standard figures for different green manures and grasses based on above ground biomass and below ground rooting systems | |
|---|---|---|
| 11% (13) | This work is too much in its infancy and should not yet be included |
110 voters have answered this question.
In measuring a farm's carbon footprint â what principles do we use to measure the carbon sink potential of the soil using organic methods?
| 52% (53) | It is up to the farm whether to carry out a soil organic matter test and if they do they can have their results recorded in the audit | |
|---|---|---|
| 32% (33) | On the principles of soil equilibrium depends on the date since organic conversion | |
| 14% (15) | This work is too much in its infancy and should not yet be included |
101 voters have answered this question.
In measuring a farm's carbon footprint â what principles do we use to measure carbon losses from soil tillage?
| 33% (36) | Develop a standard figure for ploughing and a separate figure for secondary shallow cultivations e.g. harrowing and rotavating. | |
|---|---|---|
| 50% (54) | Emissions from different soil types vary so figures should be relate directly to that soil type | |
| 15% (16) | This is not a huge problem and therefore should not be included |
106 voters have answered this question.
Composting and green manures have short-term labile carbon that is easily oxidised to air. Carbon losses will depend on aerobic conditions when the material is composted or aerobic conditions when the green manure is turned into the soil. What principles do we use to measure carbon losses from the composting process or incorporating green manure plants?
| 23% (26) | Have standard figures for losses from composting and green manure incorporation, regardless of soil type or time of year | |
|---|---|---|
| 39% (44) | Be more specific and consider other variables that may affect the carbon emissions from these activities | |
| 36% (41) | Ignore these emissions as these are essential organic practices and should not be penalised |
111 voters have answered this question.
In measuring a farm's carbon footprint â how do we measure bought in animal feed?
| 29% (32) | Define averages based on national statistics / or peer reviewed academic research and also include distance travelled to the farm | |
|---|---|---|
| 25% (28) | Encourage feed companies to have carbon audits and publish their figures. Do not include them until they have done this. | |
| 40% (44) | Be more specific by working out emissions produced from production and transport of feedstuffs | |
| 3% (4) | This work is too much in its infancy and should not yet be included |
108 voters have answered this question.
In measuring a farm's carbon footprint â how do we measure a bought in manufactured input e.g. propagation compost, horticultural fleece, plastic mulch?
| 51% (56) | Define averages based on national statistics / or peer reviewed academic research and also include distance travelled to the farm | |
|---|---|---|
| 45% (50) | Encourage manufacturers to have carbon audits and publish their figures. Do not include them until they have done this. | |
| 2% (3) | This work is too much in its infancy and should not yet be included |
109 voters have answered this question.
In measuring a farm's carbon footprint - should inputs like packaging, office stationery, workshop materials, workers commuting be included?
| 47% (54) | Yes everything | |
|---|---|---|
| 13% (15) | Everything except workers commuting as this is too onerous | |
| 39% (45) | It should not be that detailed as no one will sign up. It could become more detailed incrementally as the state of knowledge improves |
114 voters have answered this question.
In measuring a farm's carbon footprint â what principles do we use to measure the embodied energy that went into creating a piece of machinery?
| 83% (93) | Use a straight-line depreciation technique from the year of manufacture based on weight or horse power | |
|---|---|---|
| 16% (19) | Ignore embodied emissions |
112 voters have answered this question.
In measuring a farm's carbon footprint â what principles do we use to measure the embodied energy in creating a building on a metre-squared basis?
| 23% (26) | Use a straight-line depreciation technique from the year of construction | |
|---|---|---|
| 60% (67) | Distinguish between construction materials and use straight-line depreciation | |
| 15% (17) | Ignore embodied emissions |
110 voters have answered this question.
In measuring a farm's carbon footprint - there are two categories of bioethanol or biodiesel â one produced from primary materials, the other made from waste materials. How do we distinguish between the total carbon emissions from the use of each type of fuel?
| 84% (94) | Look at peer reviewed academic research | |
|---|---|---|
| 15% (17) | Don't audit them as they are perceived to be automatically carbon-neutral |
111 voters have answered this question.
Food transport is a major consumer of fossil fuels in the UK, but could be difficult to measure for some for farmers past the farm gate (and will probably vary according to final customer). What principles should we use here?
| 29% (32) | Don't attribute food transport emissions to the producer | |
|---|---|---|
| 34% (38) | It is important to measure from soil to the hand of the final consumer - include all transport emissions using national averages | |
| 36% (40) | It is important to measure from soil to the hand of the final consumer - include all transport emissions using specific data for each farm |
110 voters have answered this question.
If you would like to give more information please do so here. Many thanks for your help in this poll.
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49 voters have answered this question.
This poll was created on 2008-10-29 14:41:22
by Climate Friendly Food
