Carbon emissions of sandwiches
A typical lunchtime sandwich
02
January
2019
|
14:42
Europe/London
Staff in the news: Adisa Azapagic and the carbon emissions of sandwiches
Research carried out by Professor Adisa Azapagic of the School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science has been featured by both the BBC and Canadian broadcaster CBC.
The research outlines the environmental impact of packaged sandwiches and aims to encourage consumers to consider their food options. These include eating less red meat, eating vegetarian sandwiches and making sandwiches at home.
Professor Azapagic's findings are important because they highlight areas that people wouldn't necessarily think of when discussing climate change. They show that different food items generate differing levels of carbon emissions during their production, with red meats being particularly high.
The research also addresses issues around pre-packaged and ready made foods, as the packaging, delivery and storage of these items have higher levels of emission than that of a home-made sandwich.
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When you put a sandwich together, with all the ingredients, plus the packaging, plus the transport, plus the preparation of the sandwiches, of course, then you get a relatively high carbon footprint.
Adisa Azapagic, Professor of Sustainable Chemical Engineering
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Read more about Professor Azapagic's research.
Read a CBC article featuring the research.