Food Cluster Carbon Footprint Of British Sandwiches

Part one

Question and Hypothesis

The authors question how the life cycle of various home-made and ready-made sandwiches leaves a carbon footprint on the environment. Specifically, the authors attempt to distinguish the “GHG” (greenhouse gas) levels emitted by each sandwich type in order to find a less pollutive way to prepare sandwiches. The authors predict that the GHG emissions from the most popular British sandwiches - bacon, sausage, and egg sandwich (ready-made); ham and cheese sandwich (homemade) - can be made in an alternative way to reduce GHG emission and energy consumption. The question of why this all matters is important: to the field at large, homemade and commercial sandwich makers should understand the amount of waste they are producing and what different sandwich types are the most cost-friendly to create. Society can become more efficient in saving resources - like food and money - through the information established by this paper. The authors of this investigation did not come across an answer that differs from their hypothesis. However, information the authors discovered to be ‘new’ would be their excerpts on how companies can reduce GHG waste through revamping the agricultural process of obtaining, cleaning and distributing sandwich vegetables like tomatoes and lettuce. The authors did not use a new scientific methodology for their research. Rather, they use a conventional investigative approach to their study. And as far as the authors are aware, “this is the first study of its kind”.

Tests

The authors first conducted market research on sandwiches to establish a foundation of research data. After so, they chose to make a comparison between their compiled data and information derived from sandwich consumers and producers to deduce a logical solution for the problems seen at hand. This methodology - commonly referred to as a ‘data cross-examination’ - is not a new form of scientific investigation. The authors collected empirical data in oppose to modeling a prediction.

Figures

There are various kinds of figures employed in this paper. The authors included tables, bar graphs, data plots and process-data diagrams to simplify their research to readers. These figures illustrate the empirical data collected by the authors and the visual comparisons between extracted sandwich data (e. g. CO2 per gram, grams per ingredient). The authors used bar graphs to show the conclusive results of their study, as bar graphs give a great visual representation of the underlying ingredient-makeup of each sandwich.

Conclusion

The authors concluded that homemade sandwiches produce less GHG emissions than ready-made sandwiches. Moreover, the authors discovered that reducing the inclusion of certain ingredients - like tomatoes, lettuce, meat, eggs, or cheese - can reduce the sandwich’s overall carbon footprint by approximately 10%. As with their original intent, the authors found hotspots through the ready-made sandwich production process that can be revamped to reduce GHG emissions, particularly through the vegetable cultivation stage of the sandwich lifecycle.

Further Tests

The authors recommended that producers of ready-made sandwiches ‘relax’ the shelf life of their sandwiches to eliminate 2000 tons of annual sandwich waste. In addition, the authors ended their study with a proposition of improving the efficiency of producing the two discussed sandwich types (homemade vs. ready-made) in lieu of suggesting to choose one type over the other.

Your own interests

I was surprised to learn that adding vegetable ingredients to a sandwich drastically increases its GHG waste emission. I never expected tomatoes or lettuce to create more environmental waste than meat products. Before I dove into this paper, I guessed that the life cycle of ready-made sandwiches would cause more waste than homemade sandwiches (I was correct). Moreover, I did not account for the energy required to keep ready-made sandwiches refrigerated before they are sold to customers; there are many more factors associated with this process than I initially considered, hence my initial naive assumptions. There is more that I was to learn about: how are condiments (aside from mayonnaise) considered in an experiment like this? More importantly, how come these authors neglected to consider most GHG emission factors from homemade consumers? I was surprised to learn that the authors mentioned the energy costs of refrigerating ready-made sandwiches but avoided the idea of refrigerating sandwich ingredients at home. I believe we, as readers, could have seen different results if the authors had chosen to include such information.

Part Two

Prose Introduction

Sandwiches are convenient meals that are eaten every day in the world. Yet, little information exists on how their general life cycle affects the environment. This scientific investigation on the ‘greenhouse gas’ (GHG) emissions of sandwiches within the United Kingdom focuses on their impact on climate change and the predicted carbon footprint of homemade and ready-made sandwich options. This paper aims to help consumer make more informed meal choices by showing how certain sandwich ingredients leave a bad carbon footprint on the environment. Altogether, 40 sandwich recipes were considered in the study, highlighting only the most popular consumer preferences in the United Kingdom. The goal of this study is to investigate how the life cycles of various sandwiches pollute different amounts of greenhouse gasses to the environment. Moreover, the paper aims to associate new emission findings with contemporary nutritional information to help consumers make more informed choices on what kinds of sandwiches to eat. The paper also searches for new solutions to eliminate sandwich production emissions.

The sandwiches selected for this study are as follows:

• Home-made (16 recipes);
• Ready-made (24 recipes).

Considering that sandwiches are among the most popular meals in the United Kingdom - and other nations, like the United States and France - this study bears great importance as to how humans should regulate their eating habits. The investigation can serve as a mode of reevaluating how citizens, delis and companies go about preparing sandwiches every day; the authors predict that adjusting these habits can reduce GHG emissions significantly. However, the authors also understand that changing consumer behavior is difficult to pull off. Afterall, most people are willing to pay money instead of having to prepare sandwiches themselves. More data will be presented later in this synopsis.

Goal of Study

The goal of this investigation is to calculate the GHG emissions that arise through the production of the most popular homemade and ready-made sandwiches consumed in the United Kingdom. Additionally, the authors try to identify the carbon ‘hotspots’ that lie within the sandwich preparation process and attempt to present ideas for ways of eliminating such pollutive practices.

Methodology

Among the 40 recipes, the authors use the standards provided by ISO 14040/44 and PAS 2050:2011 to calculate how many grams of carbon-dioxide arise from the life cycle of a single sandwich. The unit of a ‘single sandwich’ is defined as “one individual sandwich serving, consisting of two slices of bread and a filling, prepared and ready for consumption”. As mentioned, there are two categories of sandwiches under investigation: homemade and ready-made sandwiches. The 16 homemade sandwich recipes chosen for this study were compiled through the most common ingredients found in United Kingdom kitchens, whereas the 24 ready-made sandwich recipes were selected because of consumer preferences and data availability. There is an average of four ingredients per sandwich. A discrepancy noted by the authors was that it was difficult to predict which homemade sandwich types were the most popular in the United Kingdom. Moreover, they estimated that the weight of bread slices differed between homemade and ready-made sandwiches by a difference of 100 grams. The following variants were also considered:

• Thickness of bread slices: thin slices as 29 grams or thick slices as 58 grams;
• Number and thickness of ham slices (one or two slices): a wafer-thin slice weighs about 8 grams while a typical thin slice weighs about 12. 5 grams;
• Number of cheese slices (one or two slices): a cheese slice weighs approximately 20 grams;
• Mayonnaise: each use of mayonnaise estimated to be one tablespoon (13 grams).

Establishing The Life Cycle

The paper calculates how much carbon-dioxide arises from each sandwich ‘life cycle’. The authors define a ‘life cycle’ to be from when a sandwich is first prepared to its eventual ‘death’ (when the sandwich is disposed of). The process of creating a ready-made sandwich begins with the cultivation of agricultural products (like vegetables) and production packaging materials (the plastic for selling the sandwiches). After the ingredients are cleaned and the sandwiches are prepared, the sandwiches are packed and retailed at convenience stores. Following the purchase and consumption of the sandwich, the life cycle ends with the disposal of food remnants and waste packaging. The authors note that, once prepared, ready-made sandwiches must be kept cool until the retail stage, which is not necessary for homemade sandwiches that are consumed on the same day.

Results of Gathered Empirical Data

The results of the investigation stated that homemade sandwiches produce less GHG emissions than ready-made sandwiches. The authors concluded that reducing the amount of certain ingredients - like lettuce, tomatoes, eggs, and more - can reduce the life cycle’s overall carbon footprint by approximately 10%. The authors found hotspots through the ready-made sandwich production process that can be revised to reduce GHG emissions, particularly through the vegetable cultivation stage of the sandwich life cycle.

Conclusion

The authors concluded that ready-made sandwiches are far more pollutive to the environment than homemade sandwiches are. The hypothesis of the authors stood to be correct. The study found that the refrigeration, cultivation of vegetables and packaging of sandwiches contributes a lot of carbon-dioxide to our environment. Surprisingly, Diagram #4 suggests that gathering the sandwich ingredients of ready-made sandwiches is solely the largest carbon-dioxide contributor out of the sandwich life cycle. Specifically, producing breakfast sandwiches and ham & cheese sandwiches create the most carbon-dioxide out of all of the sandwiches in the study. To address the pollutive hotspots of the ready-made sandwich life cycle, the authors suggested ready-made sandwiches makers extend the shelf life of their sandwiches to eliminate 2000 tons of annual sandwich waste. Additionally, the authors concluded this paper with the proposition of improving sandwich production efficiency of the two discussed sandwich types (homemade vs. ready-made) instead of recommending to eat one type over the other (in an attempt to be eco-friendly). Overall, the study opens new doors for consumers and producers to reevaluate their decisions on how to go about making sandwiches.