The carbon footprint of moderate-cost food basket in Serbia

Background and objectives: Climate change and food production are closely related. The food chain emits greenhouse gases (GHGs) at each stage; e.g. throughout farming process, production, distribution, refrigeration, retailing, food preparation, and waste disposal. One-third of global greenhouse gas emissions comes from food production and consumption. Food chain sustainability, including reducing food emissions is one of the best and easiest approaches to reduce human impact on the planet. National shopping basket is a tool that reflects the product's share of households' spending in the certain country. This study was designed to examine the sustainability of Serbian affordable foods by calculating their carbon footprint using food items of moderate-cost shopping basket in Serbia. Methods: The structure of the moderate-cost shopping basket for a family of three in Serbia is published on a monthly basis by the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications. Food list includes 73 food items categorized into 9 groups such as cereals, vegetables, fruits, meats, fish, fats and oils, dairy products, non-alcoholic beverages, and miscellaneous other foods. Food carbon footprint calculator My Emissions was used for estimation of emission of all food items in the basket. Results: The monthly quantities, intended for family of three, of each food item were multiplied by its carbon footprint and summed up the values to derive an estimate of greenhouse gases emission (335504 gCO2e). Comparing obtained estimates with globally fair daily food emissions value of 3.05 kgCO2e, it was pointed out that emissions of moderate-cost food basket in Serbia per person on daily basis is around 20% higher. Conclusions: Based on that, it can be concluded that Serbian government should introduce educational and official programs towards promoting the idea of sustainable food choices in order to contribute worldwide strategy for lower global emission.