Paul Hawken’s book, Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming (amazon.com), inspired Cecilie Stuart, founder of Move the World, a youth activist dance troupe, to hold free Drawdown Solutions Workshops. To keep the inspiration going, the Messenger Mountain News is reprinting all 100 solutions—one by one (or two by two, as here)—in every issue. To see all 100: drawdown.org/solutions. For information on Cecilie Stuart’s free Drawdown Workshop for adults and youth: e-mail Cecilie.Stuart@outlook.com.
FOOD WASTE : NOS. 3, 4, 60
Solution #3, Reduce Food Waste. We’ve all left food on our plates and seen how the food industry throws away imperfect food they say won’t sell at the grocery. Last summer, I toured Agromin, an industrial compost facility in Oxnard. Thousands of pounds of lemons were trucked in before our eyes and dumped because the grower would rather compost than sell them at a reduced price. Since food is something we use and handle every day, it is one of the first solutions my Drawdown classes have explored. Drawdown.org states, “Food waste is responsible for roughly eight percent of global Co2.” As much as one-third of our food raised or prepared doesn’t even make it to the table, let alone our plates. A couple of solutions is to order smaller portions at restaurants, purchase smaller amounts of food at the grocery stores, and cook at home when you can.
Solution #4, a Plant Rich Diet. Hawken tells us that there are only two ways to reverse global warming; Reduce Co2 by Carbon Sequestration, i.e., pulling carbon out of the air and putting it back in the ground; and reducing the demand for greenhouse gas-producing activities. Plant-rich diets reduce the demand for the numbers of animals we are raising, slaughtering, eating, and often not composting. Altering our diets is one of the simplest and quickest ways to engage in a Drawdown Lifestyle. Drawdown states, “According to a 2016 study, business-as-usual emissions could be reduced by as much as 70 percent through adopting a vegan diet and 63 percent for a vegetarian diet, which includes cheese, milk, and eggs.” To be clear, Solution #4 encourages a ‘plant rich diet’ rather than eliminating all animal protein. Try Meatless Mondays.
Solution #60, Composting. “Nearly half of the solid waste produced globally is organic or biodegradable. Much of it ends up in landfills where it decomposes in the absence of oxygen and produces methane, a greenhouse gas that is up to 34 times more powerful than Co2 over a century.” Keeping methane down by composting household food waste is a powerful act of carbon sequestration. Don’t have a compost bin at home? No problem. Freeze your food scraps each week and bring them to the TCC, (310) 455-1980; or to Manzanita School, (310) 455-9700, community composts. If you want your own compost bin, Topanga’s Full Circle Compost service will install your bin and train you at home (310) 871-0061. Join the community Zero-Waste effort. Read more: drawdown.org/solutions/food/.
By Cecilie Stuart, Move The World