Is Sugar Worse for the Environment than Meat?

Not ready to become a vegetarian? Most people know eating meat has a big carbon footprint, but there's another food group that lurks in the shadows of environmental destruction.

Sugar and Alcohol.

Farming sugar cane and grains/plants for alcohol comes with a heavy environmental burden:

1. Deforestation to grow more crops to keep up with consumer demand. This leads to damaging the ecosystem and death or displacement of wildlife. This problem is made worse by the fact that the world's biggest producers of sugarcane are also the places with the most endangered wildlife.
2. The heavy use of fertilizer and pesticides can make their way into local water reserves polluting natural water sources and hurting wildlife.
3. The process involves burning the reside - which releases massive amounts of CO2 into the environment.
4. Excessive amounts of water are needed to grow the crops.

213 gallons of water are required to produce a pound of refined cane sugar. That’s almost nine gallons per teaspoon.

- Statistic from World Wildlife

One litre of beer takes about 240 litres of water to make. That's a little over two months of drinking water for just 1 jug of beer.

- Statistics from Fresh Water Alliance

5. Toxic waste from alcohol production can contaminate soil and freshwater ecosystems and wash its way into the ocean. Approximately, for every litre of alcohol, there are 5 kilos of pulp and 11 litres of acidic waste.

6. The huge electrical bill for refrigerating alcohol.

7. Massive amounts of gas are needed to transport sugar and alcohol products globally.

In a recent study, researchers compared the carbon footprint of over 60,000 Japanese households based on their diet. They found that, on average, households with both high and low carbon footprint levels ate the same amount of meat - which leads to the question: why was there a difference in carbon footprint?

While households can reduce their carbon footprint by eating less meat, the households with higher carbon footprints are not distinguished by excessive meat consumption but rather because of elevated consumption in restaurants, confectionary, and alcohol.

- study published in One Earth

The results of the study showed that the households with a high carbon footprint on average spent 3.3 times more on alcohol, 2 times more on confectionery (sugar), and 2 times more on restaurants. This study shows that when the levels of meat consumed are the same, the consumption of sugar, alcohol, and eating at restaurants are the main culprits in higher carbon footprints.

It's important to note that meat's carbon emissions are 20 times higher than that of sugar and alcohol, so the best thing to do to reduce your carbon emissions is to reduce meat consumption - beef and red meat in particular, as white meat has 10 times less carbon emissions. The second best way is to reduce sugar, alcohol, and eating out... but

For everyone who doesn't want to give up sugar or alcohol completely, there are ways to still make an environmental impact:

1. Maple syrup. It's not only sweet, it has nutrients and minerals including manganese and zinc. In its production, the natural ecosystem is protected, it uses less water and less pesticides and chemicals. Though gas is used in the refinement process of making maple syrup, the maple trees counteract some of these CO2 emissions.

The maple trees in production in Québec capture the carbon produced by the equivalent of 290,000 cars in a year. That’s 9% of all cars in Québec.

- Maple from Canada

2. Coconut Sugar. The Hawaiian version of maple syrup - as it is also produced by 'tapping' palm trees for their sap. It also uses less water, protects the ecosystem, and reduces carbon emissions.

3. Honey - when it's ethically sourced. Bees play an important role in our ecosystem, so research companies that are ethical. For sustainable honey, look for small local honey companies and look on the label for the words raw, unfiltered, organic, biodynamic.

3. Shop local. It not only cuts down on the carbon emissions that come importing, but it's easier to get more information on where the ingredients are sourced from and what goes into production.

4. Do your research before buying. Check out these sustainable spirits or these sustainable wines (or just google it). If you are shopping for sugar, look for natural/raw/unrefined (which are naturally more healthy and more sustainable).

5. When you are in the store, look for Certified Organic and Non-GMO labels on alcohol. And avoid heavy glass bottles as they use more natural resources and energy to produce. Go for lightweight glass or plastic bottles. (Some might even say if they use recycled materials).

6. Recycle your empty cans and bottles. This one's obvious, but needs to be mentioned, as many cans and bottles still end up in landfills. Plus, you get money back when you recycle them.

Lose the sugar but stay sweet.