June 5 is World Environment Day (WED), and now more than ever the global population is putting increasing pressure on the world's natural resources - particularly when it comes to food.
The theme for this year's WED is "Think.Eat.Save", which encourages people to consider reducing their "foodprint". That means being more aware of the environmental impact your food choices have.
According to the World Environment Day's website, global food production occupies 25 per cent of all habitable land. It's also responsible for 70 per cent of fresh water consumption, 80 per cent of deforestation, and 30 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions.
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On top of that, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted every year -- the same amount produced in the whole of sub-Saharan Africa. In Australia about 4 million tonnes of food ends up in landfill every year, according to FoodWise.com.au.
"I think for the majority of people, consumers definitely don't think about the environmental footprint of their food when they're purchasing it," said Wendy Umberger, the director of Global Food Studies at the University of Adelaide.
"We see polls in the media all the time saying consumers place a high level of importance on the environment, but when it comes to their actual purchasing decisions there's so many other things that play in the mind of a consumer."
The most important factors are price and taste. Others are dependent on occasions, like buying a bottle of wine.
"SUSTAINABLE" FOODS
A suggestion is for people to only buy "sustainable foods" that aim to have less of an impact on the environment.
The top choices include:
Grasses
Wheat, barley, oats and rice are often hailed by environmentalists for using a lot less water in production.
Green vegetables
This includes the leafier varieties like spinach, which can grow quickly in most climates. Beans and peas are also known to enrich soil.
Olives
Their trees can withstand drought-like conditions
DOES SUSTAINABLE = ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY?
Associate Professor Umberger says the term "sustainable" doesn't mean it's more environmentally friendly.
"There is no standard meaning," she told SBS.
"We can say some horticultural crops require production methods that have less of an impact on the environment. But looking at those big crops, I don't think you can say that without looking at the actual environmental footprint.
"(It's) really complex, and we can't say one food is better than another food."
Factors like water, pesticides and fertliser usage play a significant role. Emissions from farming equipment and transport also need to be analysed. And then there's the quality of the soil and weather conditions.
"That's going to vary from region to region in Australia," Associate Professor Umberger said.
"The food industry needs to band together and decide what is the most efficient way that's still going to allow our food to be produced in a low-cost manner, that isn't going to disadvantage anyone and make it more expensive for a lower-income consumer to get."
On the flipside, one US website highlights various foods it deems "the most unsustainable".
They include:
Prawns / Tuna
Australia is the world's third largest marine territory. These days we import more fish than we produce for local consumption, but analysts say we still have a long way to go until our seas can be called sustainable. Species vary in terms of whether they are overfished, and widespread concern prompted SustainableSeafood.org.au to make an app out of it.
Factory Farmed Beef In the US, the Environmental Protection Agency says concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOS) are a leading source of environmental pollutants in the environment.
"When they're fed intensively, they're usually fed something such as corn or an intensive ration," Associate Professor Umberger said. "There is evidence to show it's less environmentally sustainable. But that doesn't mean beef consumption is bad. Certain production methods are better or worse than others and we should think about that."
For those who can't live without their beef, grass-fed cows are seen as a more environmentally friendly option.
Corn
Many say that growing your own corn is a sustainable option. But because it's mass-produced for both humans and livestock, chemical fertilisers are typically used on large scale farms. Australia grows less corn than countries in the northern hemisphere, but corn requires more water than other grain crops.
The National Health and Medical Research Council says: "...if Australians were to increase consumption and production of corn for its use as cereal flour, it would inevitably also be used to produce corn syrup. The emphasis on corn therefore not only conflicts with (claims varying the types of grain foods can reduce their overall environmental impact), but it conflicts with the recommendation to reduce sugar consumption, which we are assuming here does not mean to replace with corn syrup."
BUYING LOCAL
The term "buying local" also gets thrown around a lot, which refers to food that isn't flown in from halfway across the world, therefore adding to emissions.
But Associate Professor Umberger says that's another misconception.
"There's quite a bit of work out now that says food miles are not directly correlated with the environmental footprint of food," she said.
"There has been work out of New Zealand that looked at dairy. There's been quite a bit of work in the UK where they import lots of different food products and show that imported food in some cases actually has a lower environmental footprint than local food production."
