Sustainable eating...

Hey guys,

After the seminar yesterday I got to thinking about what actually is the definition of sustainable? Is it mainstream or alternative? I would argue sustainable really ought to mean, by definition, if every person on the planet lived like that, then it truly would preserve the environment and resources for future generations (see Brundtland 1987).

Anyway, I then got to thinking, I buy organic food, sometimes even fairtrade food. This is argued to be sustainable. I buy responsibly sourced fish, local meats and on the whole this looks good. However, I then began to think about my appetite. I play a lot of sport, and my house mates jokingly say I am always hungry. I do eat a fair bit, and this then led to thinking about the next step professional sportsmen and women go to. Cyclists in the tour de France regularly ingest 8000 calories a day to maintain their physical exertions. The great swimmer Phelps is alleged to eat a whopping 12,000 calories a day to fuel his exercise. To me this presents a neat little question regardless of the origin and principles with which your food is grown.

Are athletes sustainable?

I know this is only one aspect of consumption, but this is a truly basic human need. Does playing sport then entitle you to consume more than your fair share?

Carbon shoeprint:

My carbon footbprint for 2009- 2010: 3535.5938kg CO2 per annum.

I drove a total of 2000 miles this last year, and used public transport, buses and trains on a few occasions as a better alternative.

Living in a medium sized house with 3 other people has saved on emissions through heating and electricity.

I let myself down by buying food mostly from supermarkets even if a proportion of what i buy is organic/free-range ethical goodness!!