Creating a Green Home

You've jumped on the locavore bandwagon, buying your veggies, eggs, cheese and whatever else you can get from local producers. Think you're doing all the right things when it comes to greening your home by eating right? Well, you could be going a step further.

According to a new study out of Carnegie Mellon University, the transport of food only counts for 11% of food-associated greenhouse gas emissions. It's production that's causing the real problem. The byproducts of fertilizer and animal digestion (methane gas) account for greater levels of emissions.

Researchers looked at the entire life-cycle of food, during all stages of growth and transport in the U.S. (using Department of Commerce data) and calculated that the average U.S. household generates 8.1 metric tons (t) of greenhouse gases (in CO2 equivalents) annually as a result of food consumption.

What do their finding mean practically? That we can further reduce our carbon footprint by reducing the amount of beef and dairy we consume—the study claims its actually more important than just eating locally. Sad news for all the steak and milk lovers out there—but hey...you should be eating a balanced diet anyway! Has anyone changed their diet in order to be greener at home? [Treehugger.com]