STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN – Sweden has been experimenting with food labeling that lists the carbon dioxide emissions associated with the production of foods — an effort it hopes will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, The New York Times reports.
“We’re the first to do it, and it’s a new way of thinking for us,” said Ulf Bohman, head of the Nutrition Department at the Swedish National Food Administration. “We’re used to thinking about safety and nutrition as one thing and environmental as another.”
Some of the country’s dietary guidelines, released this summer, include recommending carrots over cucumbers and tomatoes (the latter two, unlike carrots, must be grown in heated greenhouses).
Sweden’s largest farming group, Lantmannen, has begun labeling food to explain their environmental impact and to steer consumers toward climate-friendly choices. At least one QSR has aligned itself with the initiative, as hamburger chain Max has begun listing emissions calculations next to menu board items.
Experts say that if the food guidelines are followed, Sweden could reduce its emissions from food production by up to 50 percent.
Sweden’s labeling effort emerged after a 2005 Swedish study reported that 25 percent of national per capita emissions stemmed from food consumption.
As to what shoppers are encountering in the food aisles of stores, one sample label reads, "Climate declared: .87 kg CO2 per kg of product."
“Right now, I don’t know what this means,” said Ms. Bergstrom, a Swedish shopper. And restaurant-goers are no less confused.
“I wish I could say that the information has made me change what I eat, but it hasn’t,” said Richard Lalander, eating a Max hamburger (1.7 kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions) before a menu board that revealed a chicken sandwich (0.4 kilograms) would have been better for the planet.