1 2 3<!DOCTYPE html> 4 5<html lang="en"> 6<head><meta charset="utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" /><title> 7 Food Carbon Emissions Calculator FAQ - CleanMetrics 8</title>
8<script src="/bundles/modernizr?v=inCVuEFe6J4Q07A0AcRsbJic_UE5MwpRMNGcOtk94TE1"></script>
8 9<link href="/Content/css?v=A0fr47wLxxEi8IdBDE6RhcTaIXAzKJMzF4b3mdglsPc1" rel="stylesheet"/> 10<link href="favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" type="image/x-icon" /> 11 12 <style type="text/css"> 13 .auto-style1 { 14 font-size: small; 15 } 16 .auto-style2 { 17 font-size: x-small; 18 text-align: center; 19 } 20 </style> 21 22 </head> 23<body> 24 <form method="post" action="./Faq" id="ctl01"> 25<div class="aspNetHidden"> 26<input type="hidden" name="__EVENTTARGET" id="__EVENTTARGET" value="" /> 27<input type="hidden" name="__EVENTARGUMENT" id="__EVENTARGUMENT" value="" /> 28<input type="hidden" name="__VIEWSTATE" id="__VIEWSTATE" value="MW2yUvAOk89bBSp3pR+RxsxhXgLYT8euha8TJM1LqvidknRywGEnoTX38jaBEg8jkXo8mfhNpVqa2sVAPkK4hWTLo9GdHJm5utZNUyFubj0=" /> 29</div> 30
31<script type="text/javascript"> 32//<![CDATA[ 33var theForm = document.forms['ctl01']; 34if (!theForm) { 35 theForm = document.ctl01; 36} 37function __doPostBack(eventTarget, eventArgument) { 38 if (!theForm.onsubmit || (theForm.onsubmit() != false)) { 39 theForm.__EVENTTARGET.value = eventTarget; 40 theForm.__EVENTARGUMENT.value = eventArgument; 41 theForm.submit(); 42 } 43} 44//]]> 45</script>
45 46 47 48
49<script src="/bundles/MsAjaxJs?v=D6VN0fHlwFSIWjbVzi6mZyE9Ls-4LNrSSYVGRU46XF81" type="text/javascript"></script>
49
50<script src="Scripts/jquery-3.4.1.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
50
51<script src="Scripts/bootstrap.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
51
52<script src="/bundles/WebFormsJs?v=N8tymL9KraMLGAMFuPycfH3pXe6uUlRXdhtYv8A_jUU1" type="text/javascript"></script>
52 53<div class="aspNetHidden"> 54 55 <input type="hidden" name="__VIEWSTATEGENERATOR" id="__VIEWSTATEGENERATOR" value="0F4F4B68" /> 56</div> 57
57<script type="text/javascript"> 58//<![CDATA[ 59Sys.WebForms.PageRequestManager._initialize('ctl00$ctl08', 'ctl01', [], [], [], 90, 'ctl00'); 60//]]> 61</script>
61 62 63 64 <div class="navbar navbar-inverse navbar-fixed-top"> 65 <div class="container"> 66 <div class="navbar-header"> 67 <button type="button" class="navbar-toggle" data-toggle="collapse" data-target=".navbar-collapse"> 68 <span class="icon-bar"></span> 69 <span class="icon-bar"></span> 70 <span class="icon-bar"></span> 71 </button> 72 <img ID="Picture 0" src="App_Images/cm_header_grey.png" style="width: 1000px; height: 70px;" > 73 </div> 74 <div class="navbar-collapse collapse"> 75 <ul class="nav navbar-nav"> 76 <li><a href="Calculator"><strong>Calculator</strong></a></li> 77 <li><a href="Faq"><strong>FAQ</strong></a></li> 78 <li><a href="https://www.cleanmetrics.com" target="_blank"><strong>About CleanMetrics</strong></a></li> 79 </ul> 80 </div> 81 </div> 82 </div> 83 <div class="container body-content"> 84 85 <div style="margin-left:auto; margin-right: auto; width: 700px;"> 86 <br /> 87 <br /> 88 <br /> 89 <br /> 90 <br /> 91 <ol> 92 <li> 93 <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst"> 94 <span style="line-height: 115%"><span class="style15"><a href="#q1">Why is CleanMetrics 95 providing this free calculator?</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></p> 96 </li> 97 <li> 98 <p class="style15"> 99 <span style="line-height: 115%"><a href="#q2">Where do the food carbon emissions data come 100 from?</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> 101 </li> 102 <li> 103 <p class="style15"> 104 <span style="line-height: 115%"><a href="#q3">What was the reasoning behind including specific 105 food commodities in the calculator?</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> 106 </li> 107 <li> 108 <p class="style15"> 109 <span style="line-height: 115%"><a href="#q4">What are the underlying methodologies used in 110 creating the emissions data?</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> 111 </li> 112 <li> 113 <p class="style15"> 114 <span style="line-height: 115%"><a href="#q5">Are there any other assumptions that I should 115 know about?</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> 116 </li> 117 <li> 118 <p class="style15"> 119 <span style="line-height: 115%"><a href="#q6">Does the calculator include data on organic food 120 production?</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> 121 </li> 122 <li> 123 <p class="style15"> 124 <span style="line-height: 115%"><a href="#q7">What if I need data on additional food 125 commodities and production/processing methods?</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> 126 </li> 127 <li> 128 <p class="style15"> 129 <span style="line-height: 115%"><a href="#q8">What if I need data on packaging or cooking?</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> 130 </li> 131 <li> 132 <p class="style15"> 133 <span style="line-height: 115%"><a href="#q9">Can I use the emissions data from this 134 calculator in my teaching or research?</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> 135 </li> 136 <li> 137 <p class="style15"> 138 <span style="line-height: 115%"><a href="#q10">Can I use the emissions data from this 139 calculator for commercial purposes?</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> 140 </li> 141 <li> 142 <p class="style15"> 143 <span style="line-height: 115%"><a href="#q11">What can businesses do to reduce emissions in 144 our food system?</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> 145 </li> 146 <li> 147 <p class="style15"> 148 <span style="line-height: 115%"><a href="#q12">What can consumers do to reduce emissions in our 149 food system?</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> 150 </li> 151 <li> 152 <p class="style15">
153 <span style="line-height: 115%"><a href="#q13">How can I contact CleanMetrics with questions, 154 comments or ideas?</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> 155 </li> 156 </ol> 157 <p class="style15"> 158 <span style="line-height: 115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> 159 <p class="style15"> 160 <o:p> </o:p></p> 161 <p class="style15"> 162 <o:p> </o:p></p> 163 <p class="style15"> 164 <o:p> </o:p></p> 165 <p class="style15"> 166 <o:p> </o:p></p> 167 <p class="style15"> 168 <o:p> </o:p></p> 169 <p class="style15"> 170 <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="line-height: 115%"> 171 <a name="q1" id="q1"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Why is 172 CleanMetrics providing this free calculator?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> 173 <p class="style17"> 174 There is clearly a strong need for simplified food emissions data that everyone can access for free, and a calculator that demonstrates the effect of a few variables in the food system that consumers can control. We are providing this calculator as a free service (and a first step) to help fill that need for public information and understanding. We are open to other ideas on how we can help advance the cause of food sustainability.</p> 175 <p class="style17"> 176 <o:p> </o:p></p> 177 <p class="style15"> 178 <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="line-height: 115%"><a name="q2" id="q2"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Where do 179 the food carbon emissions data come from?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> 180 <p class="style17"> 181 The underlying data used in the calculator (known as life-cycle inventory data) come from our life-cycle assessment results generated prior to 2020 using the CleanMetrics 182 <a href="https://www.cleanmetrics.com/foodcarbonscope" target="_blank">FoodCarbonScope</a> 183 software. Over 95% of the agricultural data included in the calculator is for 184 North American production. The calculator basically provides a dashboard to 185 serve up the detailed results calculated using FoodCarbonScope. 186 </p> 187 <p class="style17"> 188 <o:p> </o:p></p> 189 <p class="style15"> 190 <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="line-height: 115%"><a name="q3" id="q3"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />What was 191 the reasoning behind including specific food commodities in the calculator?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> 192 <p class="style17"> 193 We originally looked at several sources (such as the 194 <a href="http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/FoodConsumption/FoodGuideSpreadsheets.htm" target="_blank"> 195 USDA</a>, 196 <a href="http://www.aboutseafood.com/about/about-seafood/top-10-consumed-seafoods" target="_blank"> 197 About Seafood</a>, and others) to come up with a list of about 31 food 198 commodities that are commonly consumed in the US. We later expanded this to 296 raw and processed food commodities. For each of these commodities, 199 we picked a typical North American production system or an average of several 200 North American production systems (in one or more agricultural regions) to 201 calculate the production emissions. 202 </p> 203 <p class="style17"> 204 <o:p> </o:p></p> 205 <p class="style15"> 206 <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="line-height: 115%"><a name="q4" id="q4"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />What are 207 the underlying methodologies used in creating the emissions data?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> 208 <p> 209 <span style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin"> 210 <span class="style15">Our emissions data and results are consistent with current 211 international standards (</span></span><span class="style15"><a 212 href="http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=37456" 213 target="_blank"><span 214 style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; color: blue">ISO 215 14040</span></a><span 216 style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; color: #0066FF"> 217 </span>
218 <span style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin"> 219 series, </span> 220 <a href="https://shop.bsigroup.com/forms/PASs/PAS-2050/" 221 target="_blank"> 222 <span style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; color: blue"> 223 PAS 2050</span></a><span 224 style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin">) 225 for life cycle assessment and product carbon footprint analysis. Baseline 226 emissions from agriculture, livestock and waste disposal are calculated using 227 the </span></span> 228 <a href="http://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/index.html" target="_blank"> 229 <span style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; color: blue"> 230 <span class="style15">IPCC Guidelines for National GHG Inventories</span></span></a><span style="font-family: 231"Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font: 232minor-latin;mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin">.</span></p> 233 <p> 234 </p> 235 <p class="style15"> 236 <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="line-height: 115%"><a name="q5" id="q5"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Are there 237 any other assumptions that I should know about?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> 238 <p class="style15"> 239 <span style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin">
240 We assumed that all commodities would require 100 miles of local transport (in a 241 single-unit truck). A couple of commodities require ocean transport because they 242 are not produced in the contiguous US or Canada. In addition, the user can 243 select the transport distance for the longest road segment via semi-trailer 244 truck â the default distance is 1400 miles. Commodities are refrigerated or 245 frozen in transit 246 <o:p>as needed.</o:p></span></p> 247 <p class="style15"> 248 <span style="mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin"> 249 For waste disposal, we assumed that anaerobic landfills would be used in a 250 temperate/wet climate zone, with 21% of the landfill methane flared and 23.25% 251 of the methane converted to electricity.<o:p> If you are composting all of your 252 food waste, you can set the waste percentage to 0 to get a close approximation 253 of the overall impact of waste disposal.</o:p></span></p> 254 <p class="style15"> 255 <o:p> </o:p></p> 256 <p class="style15"> 257 <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="line-height: 115%"><a name="q6" id="q6"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Does the 258 calculator include data on organic food production?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> 259 <p class="style15"> 260 <span style="line-height: 115%">Yes, the calculator includes limited data on 261 organic food production.</span><o:p> </o:p></p> 262 <p class="style15"> 263 <o:p> </o:p></p> 264 <p class="style15"> 265 <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="line-height: 115%"><a name="q7" id="q7"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />What if I 266 need data on additional food commodities and production/processing methods?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> 267 <p class="style15"> 268 <span style="line-height: 115%">Unfortunately, we are not in a position to provide any additional free 269 data.</span></p> 270 <p class="style15"> 271 <o:p> </o:p></p> 272 <p class="style15"> 273 <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="line-height: 115%"><a name="q8" id="q8"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />What if I 274 need data on packaging or cooking?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> 275 <p class="style15"> 276 Email us and we will offer so<span style="line-height: 115%">me useful suggestions.</span></p> 277 <p class="style15"> 278 <o:p> </o:p></p> 279 <p class="style15"> 280 <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="line-height: 115%"><a name="q9" id="q9"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Can I use 281 the emissions data from this calculator in my teaching or research?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> 282 <p class="style15"> 283 <span style="line-height: 115%">Yes, absolutely. Please cite this website in any 284 written material. Also be aware that this calculator is provided âas isâ without 285 any warranties or technical support.</span></p> 286 <p class="style15"> 287 <o:p> </o:p></p> 288 <p class="style15"> 289 <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="line-height: 115%"><a name="q10" id="q10"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Can I use 290 the emissions data from this calculator for commercial purposes?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> 291 <p class="style15"> 292 Y<span style="line-height: 115%">es, but without any technical support or consulting.</span></p> 293 <p class="style15"> 294 <o:p> </o:p></p> 295 <p class="style15"> 296 <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="line-height: 115%"><a name="q11" id="q11"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />What can 297 businesses do to reduce emissions in our food system?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> 298 <p class="style15"> 299 <span style="line-height: 115%">Businesses that are part of the food system â 300 from agricultural producers and processors to distributors, retailers and 301 restaurants â can do much to reduce emissions. Possible actions include better
302 agricultural practices, higher energy efficiency in processing, improved 303 packaging, reduced waste throughout the supply chain, more efficient 304 distribution networks, enabling more informed consumer choice through product 305 labeling, and so on. <o:p>Please <a href="mailto:[email protected]">contact us</a> if you would like to discuss climate-friendly business strategies.</o:p></span></p> 306 <p class="style15"> 307 <o:p> </o:p></p> 308 <p class="style15"> 309 <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="line-height: 115%"><a name="q12" id="q12"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />What can 310 consumers do to reduce emissions in our food system?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> 311 <p class="MsoNormal"> 312 The two biggest things consumers can do is to focus on their choice of proteins and work on reducing food waste (see our <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/11/28/eating-well-without-destroying-climate" target="_blank">article</a> specifically addressing this). You can use this calculator to see the relative climate impacts of different kinds of proteins in your diet and think about consuming the most climate-friendly combination of proteins that you can. According to the USDA, over 30 percent of most food commodities are wasted at the consumer level. For every pound of food wasted, there are potentially avoidable emissions from agricultural production, processing, packaging, transport, cooking and waste disposal. Considering some of the difficulties in choosing foods that are less harmful to the environment, reducing food waste might well be one of the easier and more concrete actions that consumers can take. And you can use this calculator to figure out the total impact of food waste for many common food commodities (excluding packaging and cooking).</p> 313 <p class="MsoNormal"> 314 <o:p> </o:p></p> 315 <p class="style15"> 316 <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="line-height: 115%"><a name="q13" id="q13"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />How can I 317 contact CleanMetrics with questions, comments or ideas?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> 318 <p class="style17"> 319 Please contact us at <a href="mailto:[email protected]"class="mtext" > 320 [email protected]</a>. If you have any questions, comments or 321 interesting ideas, we want to hear from you. We will do our best to respond to 322 your messages and ideas.<o:p></o:p></p> 323 <p class="style17"> 324 <o:p> </o:p></p> 325 </div> 326 327 328 <hr /> 329 <footer> 330 <p class="auto-style2""><span class="auto-style1">© </span> 2026 - <strong>CleanMetrics Corp.</strong> All rights reserved. This website is provided "as is" without any warranties, representations or technical support.</p> 331 </footer> 332 </div> 333 334 </form> 335</body> 336</html>
Line numbers count LF bytes from the start of the resource, as the search results do. Vendor segments are library code the classifier recognised; they are stored but not indexed. Bytes are shown as Latin1 characters, one per byte.