Food Footprint
The food ecological footprint includes food consumed by South West residents, whether in the home or out, in 2001. Post-consumer food waste was not included (to avoid double counting). The ecological footprint for food consumed by the South West residents in 2001, was 8 million gha (1.63 gha per person). It accounted for 29% of a South West resident's total ecological footprint. A breakdown of the food ecological footprint, by food type, is shown in Table 7. Animal-based food products were responsible for 77% of the food footprint (see Figure 4), of which meat was the biggest contributor, at 35% of the total food footprint and fish the second biggest, at 31%. Plant-based food contributed 23% of the total food ecological footprint.
| Food type | Per person consumption (kg) | Per person ecological footprint (gha) | % of total food ecological footprint |
| Total food | 698 | 1.63 | 100% |
| of which | |||
| Animal-based | 235 | 1.25 | 77% |
| of which | |||
| Milk & cream | 117 | 0.14 | 9% |
| Cheese | 7 | 0.001 | <1% |
| Meat | 57 | 0.57 | 35% |
| Fish | 10 | 0.50 | 31% |
| Eggs | 9 | 0.02 | 1% |
| Butter | 3 | <0.01 | <1% |
| Other animal-based food*** | 32 | 0.03 | 2% |
| Plant-based | 463 | 0.37 | 23% |
| of which | |||
| Vegetable Fats | 7 | 0.02 | 1% |
| Sugar & preserves | 8 | 0.02 | 1% |
| Potatoes | 53 | 0.02 | 1% |
| Other vegetables* | 67 | 0.01 | 1% |
| Fruit | 76 | 0.02 | 1% |
| Bread & other cereals** | 91 | 0.13 | 8% |
| Beverages | 25 | 0.10 | 6% |
| Soft drinks | 64 | 0.02 | 1% |
| Confectionery | 7 | <0.01 | <1% |
| Alcoholic beverages | 57 | 0.04 | 2% |
| Other plant-based food*** | 8 | <0.01 | <1% |
| * Other vegetables include all fresh, green or processed vegetables such as lettuce, sprouts or carrots, but exclude potatoes. ** Other cereals include breakfast cereals, snacks (for example popadums), cakes and flour. *** Other food includes for example soups, salad dressings and sauces. Note: Totals may differ due to rounding. |
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| Source: DEFRA 2002 & 2003a and ONS, 2003 | |||
The ecological footprint per unit of food varies considerably between food types. Although South West residents consumed almost twice as much plant-based food as animal-based food, the animal-based footprint is more than three times the plant-based footprint. Far more resources are consumed to produce a kilogram of beef than a kilogram of wheat. Figure 4 illustrates these 'conversion inefficiencies' in the food chain.
Figure 4
Food ecological footprint of South West residents, compared with tonnages consumed, in 2001
