This has happened in just seven months this year
Adopting a plant-based diet brings down food-based greenhouse gas emissions by at least 30 per cent. Photo: iStock This year’s Earth Overshoot Day was observed July 28, a day before it was celebrated last year July 29 and nearly a month earlier than it was celebrated in 2020 August 22.
The day, hosted and calculated by Global Footprint Network, an international research organisation, falls earlier every year, to indicate that humanity’s demand for natural resources exceeds what the Earth can provide.
Read ‘Earth Overshoot Day’ has shifted back to July 29
Moving the date of exhaustion communicates to the world that the time to act and save the planet is running out.
Source: National Footprint and Biocapacity Accounts, 2022 Edition
The Global Footprint Network said on the occasion that “the greatest potential for large-scale change lies with governments and businesses when they align their policies and strategies with the possibilities of the planet.”
The organisation listed five ways to “turn around our natural consumption trends” to restore the Earth’s “ecological debt”:
The press release by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Central and Eastern Europe, said:
Above all, an ambitious reduction of CO2 emissions and the implementation of projects for protection and restoration of forests, oceans, rivers and wetlands is necessary and so is a change in food consumption habits.
Adopting a plant-based diet brings down food-based greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by at least 30 per cent, wildlife loss by up to 46 per cent agriculture land-use by at least 41 per cent and premature deaths by at least 20 per cent, the press release said further.
The WWF has launched the “Good for You, Good for the Planet” campaign to guide people towards eating a planet friendly diet.
“We launch this platform with the long-term aim to raise awareness and also to inspire people to become conscious of their food choices every day. Our consumption of food and the way we cook and eat has a huge effect on the planet.
“By taking steps towards a more conscious and sustainable diet, we can all contribute to a better food system and reduce the negative effects of climate change,” Péter Baráth, WWF-CEE, marketing and partnerships director, said.
The amount of food waste has been increasing year-on-year. A new study by WWF and Tesco revealed that food waste amounts to 10 per cent of GHG, a jump from previous estimates of eight per cent.
This amounts to twice the yearly carbon emissions from automobiles in the United States and Europe.
The report said 1.2 billion tones of food was left wasted on farms and additionally, 931 million tonnes was left wasted in retail and consumption too.
Overall, 2.5 billion tonnes of food goes uneaten globally. The report said approximately 40 per cent of all food grows uneaten worldwide, up from the previous estimated figure of 33 per cent.
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