The industry

• Food is responsible for 26% of the global greenhouse-gas emissions

• Half of the world’s habitable land is used for agriculture

• 70% of the world’s freshwater withdrawals is used for agriculture

• Agriculture causes 78% of the global ocean and freshwater eutrophication (nutrient-rich pollutants)

• 98% of all mammal biomass on earth (except humans) are livestock (not wild animals!)

• Agriculture is a threat to 24 000 red-listed species threatened to extinction

• In 2019, 15.9 million people worked in the food industry, in Europe that is 8% of the working force

• 1/3 of all food produced globally is lost or wasted

• 9/10 of the world’s farms are managed by families

• Agriculture provides jobs for approximately 1.3 billion smallholders and landless workers worldwide

• 80 billion animals are slaughtered each year

Source: Our World In Data, Our World In Data - Food Impact, Our World In Data - Meat and Dairy, Eurostat, WFP and FAO

How I can help

• Educate individuals and employees on sustainable diet, behaviour and consumption

• Help businesses in the food sector to reduce their climate and environmental impact

• Help individuals on their journey to a more sustainable plant-based diet

Checklist for your eating habits

• Plan, consume and cook food based on the season

• Buy to the extent you can organic and locally grown food

• Bring your bags including bags for fruit and other items you need to weight

• Choose fair trade certified products when it comes to tea, cacao, coffee, bananas, sugar and so on

• Join a local community where you can buy directly from the farmers (Ekoringar in Swedish)

• Cook and plan meals that you can freeze and store

• Create a routine of using left-overs

• Compost and recycle kitchen waste

• Choose the plant-based/vegetarian option when eating out, if there is one

• Try out and integrate new plant-based meals and cooking in your household

Board-member of Djurens Rätt

Sophie is a board member of Sweden’s largest animal rights organisation Djurens Rätt and has extensive knowledge regarding animal factories in Sweden. She’s an advocate of the animal rights perspective and considers animal rights to be an important aspect of sustainable food systems. She also believes their wellbeing should be of a larger priority within the industry and politically.

Sophie does not speak on behalf of Djurens Rätt and her opinions are her own. If you want to learn more about the organisation, contact Djurens Rätt directly.

Photo by Scott Warman on Unsplash