How does the food we eat affect the environment?
Food and the environment: food miles and carbon footprint, the environmental impact of packaging, transport and food production, seasonal and local food, and the effects of food waste.
A focused answer on food and the environment for OCR GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition (J309), covering food miles, carbon footprint, packaging, seasonal and local food, the impact of food production, and reducing environmental harm.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
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What this dot point is asking
OCR wants you to explain how producing, transporting, packaging and wasting food affects the environment, and how food choices can reduce that impact. This links closely to provenance and sustainability.
Food miles and carbon footprint
Foods flown long distances (air-freighted out-of-season produce) and red meats such as beef and lamb (which use a lot of land, water and feed, and whose animals release methane) have a high carbon footprint. Plant foods and locally grown, seasonal produce generally have a lower impact.
Packaging
Packaging protects food, extends shelf life and carries information, but it uses energy and raw materials to make and creates waste. Common materials differ in impact: glass and metal (cans) are widely recyclable, paper and card are recyclable and compostable, but many plastics are hard to recycle and persist in the environment. Choosing food with less packaging, or packaging that is recyclable or made from recycled material, reduces this impact. Reusing and recycling packaging is better than sending it to landfill, and buying loose or refillable products avoids packaging altogether.
Seasonal and local food
The impact of food waste
Households can cut waste by planning meals, buying only what is needed, storing food well, using leftovers and composting peelings.
Try this
Q1. Define the carbon footprint of a food. [1 mark]
- Cue. The total greenhouse gases produced across the food's whole life (production, processing, packaging, transport, storage and disposal).
Q2. Give two ways a household could reduce food waste. [2 marks]
- Cue. Any two of: plan meals and buy only what is needed, store food well, use leftovers, compost peelings.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of OCR exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
OCR 20196 marksExplain how the food choices a household makes can reduce its impact on the environment.Show worked answer →
A 6-mark free-response question. Reward a range of linked choices with reasons.
Buy seasonal and local food to cut food miles and the carbon emissions from transport, and choose food with less packaging or recyclable packaging to reduce waste and the energy used making it. Eat less meat (especially beef and lamb, which have a high carbon footprint and use a lot of land and water) and more plant foods, which generally have a lower impact.
Reduce food waste by planning meals, buying only what is needed, storing food well, using leftovers and composting peelings. Choose sustainably sourced fish (the MSC label) to protect fish stocks.
Top-band answers (5 to 6 marks) give several choices, each linked to the environmental benefit (lower food miles, less packaging and waste, lower-carbon foods).
OCR 20214 marksExplain what is meant by the carbon footprint of a food and give two ways it can be reduced.Show worked answer →
A 4-mark structured question.
The carbon footprint of a food is the total amount of greenhouse gases (such as carbon dioxide) produced across its whole life: growing or rearing it, processing, packaging, transport, storage and disposal. Foods with a high carbon footprint include those flown long distances and red meat such as beef and lamb.
Two ways to reduce it (any two): buy local and seasonal food to cut transport; eat less red meat and more plant foods; choose food with less packaging; and cut food waste so less food is produced for nothing.
Markers reward defining carbon footprint as the total greenhouse gases over the food's life, and two valid reduction methods.
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