How Sustainable is my Breakfast?

• Food science
• Science
• +1
• Lower Secondary (Key Stage 3)
• Primary Education

How sustainable is my breakfast?

This lesson was created by the Co-Centre for Sustainable Food Systems: www.foodcocentre.org 

Did you know that our food choices have an impact on our health AND on the health of the planet? 

In this lesson, we'll investigate the sustainability of the food we eat at breakfast time, using scientific data on:

                  

                 

                  

Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHGs)

 Water Use

Nutritional Value

Land Use

These indicators capture the resource intensity and climate impact of food production, which are critical for reducing environmental degradation and meeting climate targets.

Other important indicators of food sustainability include:

Nutrition & Health

Economic Viability

Social Equity

This is the 'Planetary Health Diet' - a guide to making healthy food choices for ourselves AND the planet. It shows us that half an adult's diet should be made of up fruit and vegetables!

What does a sustainable diet look like?

Scientific studies tell us that by choosing to eat less meat and dairy products, and more fruit, vegetables and wholegrains (as well as eating more locally sourced food and throwing less of it away) you can reduce the environmental impact of your diet.

https://eatforum.org/eat-lancet-commission/the-planetary-health-diet-and-you/

Greenhouse gases (GHGs) are chemicals in the earth’s atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and industrial ones like fluorinated or F-gases. Over millions of years, the earth’s atmosphere has been able to trap 'just' the right amount of heat for life on earth to thrive. But too many of these Greenhouse Gases are being added to the earth’s atmosphere, and because they absorb more heat from the sun they are making the earth hotter, like a greenhouse. Food production is responsible for around a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions!

What are Greenhouse Gases?

Kgs of GHG emissions per serving

Which foods create the highest GHG emissions?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-46459714

Producing which of the following foods creates the highest level of GHG emissions?

1. Chocolate
2. Beans
3. Chicken
4. Nuts

Now let's think about breakfast!
Which of these common breakfast options do you usually choose?

Bowl of cereal

Toast

Porridge

Fruit

Bacon, sausages & eggs

Scrambled eggs

A croissant or Danish pastry

I don't eat breakfast

Muesli

Yoghurt

GHG emission data on common breakfast foods

Use these GHG scores to help you answer the next question... 

Which combination of the following breakfast foods creates the lowest level of GHG emissions?

Hint!

Remember, the higher the GHGE score for each food item, the lower the emissions!

1. Eggs, sausages & toast
2. Strawberries, blueberries & porridge
3. Toast, mushrooms & eggs
4. Cheese, toast & beans

The winning combo!

Agriculture is responsible for around 70% of global freshwater use. With water resources under increasing pressure from growing populations and climate change, it's vital to measure water use and ensure we limit the pressure we place on this precious resource. Growing and processing crops and livestock consumes large quantities of water, therefore, the water 'footprint' of food is high. Animal products, like meat, dairy and eggs tend to require more water than fruits, vegetables and beans.

Why do we measure Water Use in food production?

This is why preventing food waste individually matters, because discarded food not only wastes the water that went into producing it, but all other resources too!

Water Use data on common breakfast foods

Use these  classification levels to help you answer the next question... 

Drag and drop the following breakfast foods to the correct level of Water Use...

Low

Medium 

High 

Toast

Bacon

Strawberries

Porridge

Butter

Mushrooms

Farmers use land to grow crops like wheat and potatoes. They also use it to grow grass which animals can graze on, which produces dairy products or meat for us to eat. Land is also needed to grow other crops like maize for animals. The choices we make about what we eat affect what we can use land for. If we can reduce the amount of land used for food production, we can grow more trees and  or restore peatland, which removes the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. 

Why do we measure Land Use?

Measuring how much land is used to produce different foods helps us understand the changes that are needed to reduce the environmental impact of our diet.

Land Use data for common breakfast foods

Use these  classification levels to help you complete the next drag and drop... 

Which 'sustainability hero' food contains the highest level of protein?

1. Toast
2. Porridge
3. Beans
4. Bananas

Drag and drop the following breakfast foods to the correct Land Use measurement...

Low

Medium 

High 

Porridge

Bananas

Mushrooms

Toast

Butter

Beans

Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHGs)

 Water Use

Land Use

Scientific data can help us make decisions about how often we should eat certain foods to stay healthy...

Nutritional Value

Did you know that the food choices we make have an impact on our health AND on the health of the planet? 

In this lesson, we'll investigate the sustainability of the food we eat at breakfast time, using information about:

                  

                 

    

Sustainability Superheroes!

Porridge

Porridge oats are a climate-friendly grain, with low GHG emissions. They are less water-intensive than rice or nuts. Porridge scores ‘Medium’ on Land Use, as growing oats requires some land but has low-input overall.

Porridge is also nutritious. It is a whole grain, fibre-rich, and heart-healthy staple breakfast food that ticks all the right boxes!

Don’t forget that adding milk (rather than water) to porridge reduces it’s sustainability score - but overall, porridge is still a very nutiritous and sustainable breakfast option!

Strawberries

Strawberries have low GHG emissions, especially when in season and grown locally. They require less water than many fruits, and use land efficiently when grown intensively.

They are also very nutritious, as they are rich in vitamin C, antioxidants, and fibre.

Remember to choose to eat them during the summer months, to avoid the footprint of imported, out-of-season berries!

Blueberries

Blueberries have low GHG emissions, similar to strawberries, especially when grown locally. Water input is also similar to strawberries, but varies depending on where they are grown. There is an efficient yield per hectare, so Land Use is low.

Blueberries are very nutritious. They are high in polyphenols and brain-healthy antioxidants. A great breakfast add-on for health!

Bananas

Bananas have surprisingly low emissions and low water use, due to efficient mass production. There is a high yield per hectare, so Land Use is also low. Surprising stats for a tropical import!

Bananas are also very nutritious. Energy, potassium and fibre in one neat package! 

Beans

Beans are among the lowest GHG emitters per gram of protein, and most efficient users of water resources. Growing beans requires some land, but much less than meat. 

They are also very nutritious! Packed with protein, fibre and micronutrients, beans are an ideal food for health AND sustainability. 

Click on each 

to learn more... 

Nutrition data for common breakfast foods

Use these nutritional scores to help you answer the next question... 

Which combination of breakfast foods has the highest nutritional score?

1. Mushrooms, eggs & toast
2. Sausages, cheese & toast
3. Eggs, mushrooms & beans
4. Porridge, sausages & toast

The winning combo!

V/S

Eggs

Toast

Sausages

Strawberries

Blueberries

Porridge

Breakfast A

Breakfast B

How do our breakfast foods compare when we add up sustainability and nutritional scores? Use this table to figure out which combo wins!

Breakfast Battle!

Strawberries = 8

Blueberries = 8

Porridge = 7

Breakfast B!

Scoring 23 points, porridge with blueberries and strawberries has lots of health benefits and a very low impact on the planet!

And the WINNER is...

Scientific data can help us understand which foods have a higher environmental impact than others, and which foods are more nutritious than others.

Eating more fruit, veg and wholegrains and a bit less meat and diary can reduce the impact of our diet on the planet.

Key takeaways...

Good to know!

A Plant-Rich Diet 

                                       

                                               is any diet that includes a high proportion of fruit, vegetables, wholegrains, pulses, legumes, nuts, seeds and alternative sources of protein, such as soy products. This doesn’t mean your diet is animal-free, but it is likely to contain smaller and fewer portions of animal-sourced foods.

The Food System 

                                           

                                               is a term that describes all activities and processes involved in feeding a population, including: growing, harvesting, processing, packaging, transporting, marketing, consumption, distribution, and disposal of food and food-related items.

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