Since we are discussing food in off-topic at the moment I thought I would publish a few figures now that supermarkets (Tesco) are putting the carbon footprint on labels. These are all UK figures, so will be different for other countries.

The provide a global total in Kg of carbon dioxide released per tonne of product delivered, including transport and packaging.

Granulated sugar.................870
Fresh pineapple.................1300
Jaffa cakes.......................2500
Tea bags..........................4100
Cheddar cheese.................9800
Instant coffee................130000

By comparison road making asphalt is 45 kg/tonne delivered.

 

So how does my Instant coffee react In my body,give me some how and whys.

 

I love instant coffee, it saves me from going to starbucks, so it should say 129998 instead.

 

I love instant coffee, it saves me from going to starbucks, so it should say 129998 instead.

Actually, one tonne (does that mean a metric ton?) of instant coffee saves you approximately a zillion trips to Starbucks. It may likely have a negative carbon footprint by comparison.

In reality, the problem with those numbers is that one is comparing apples to oranges (pineapples to instant coffee). For more meaningful comparisons, at least by casual examination, the denominator should take into consideration a ready-to-use factor. A tonne of instant coffee is a lot (more than 100 tonnes, my version takes 2g for 250 mL) of ready-to-drink coffee. A tonne of granulated sugar is already ready to use. A tonne of asphalt doesn't go very far.

John

 

Since we are discussing food in off-topic at the moment I thought I would publish a few figures now that supermarkets (Tesco) are putting the carbon footprint on labels. These are all UK figures, so will be different for other countries.

The provide a global total in Kg of carbon dioxide released per tonne of product delivered, including transport and packaging.

Granulated sugar.................870
Fresh pineapple.................1300
Jaffa cakes.......................2500
Tea bags..........................4100
Cheddar cheese.................9800
Instant coffee................130000

By comparison road making asphalt is 45 kg/tonne delivered.

Great idea but that won't fly in the US. We have lobbiest who's sole job is to prevent us from knowing this kind of info.

 

John, what is a ready to use factor?

I think the high figure for instant coffee reflects the fact that the unit considered is a glass jar containing 100g. So you have to manufacture 10,000 of these glass jars per tonne of coffee.
The pineapple unit was one whole fruit.

 

It is common in the US to express dietary values in units/serving. Clearly, the difference between instant coffee and pineapple would be a lot less should one compare a cup of instant coffee (ready to drink) with 2 to 3 slices of pineapple.

I was being somewhat lighthearted in my statement. More seriously, I find such so-called data relatively meaningless, as it is never stated exactly how all contributors to the production are considered. Personally, I don't like or drink instant coffee, so I will rest easier tonight knowing that my Scotch has a lower carbon footprint per tonne.

John