Protein: I have a whey based protein from the brand Optimum Nutrition. For every scoop that I consume, there are 24 grams of protein, 5.5 grams of BCAA’s, and 4 grams of Glutamic Acid. Because I ordered this food from an online nutrition website, i have to take into account the fuel consumed by driving from the holding location to the airport, flying it from America to Canada, and consequently the fuel consumed in delivering it to my doorstep. The packaging is made solely of aluminium foil coated in plastic according to research. The foil is a naturally occurring element, which needs to be processed (heated, poured into a mould, further flattened and treated) whereas the plastic is a man made synthetic substance, based off of petrochemicals, petroleum based chemical products. The ingredients of the bag are “of international and domestic origin”, according to the label. This makes me wonder how much fuel has gone into the transportation costs of the ingredients. The powder originates from the globular whey which is a byproduct of cheese manufacturing.
Yogurt: The yogurt is of the brand Olympic, an organic probiotic yogurt. Yogurt is produced from milk, which requires huge pastures for cows to graze freely. They also need holding pens for the winters, as well as a large supply of hay bails. All of these processes require vast amounts of fossil fuels for the tractors and bailers, but another huge contributor to fossil fuels is the methane gas that is being excreted from cows’ feces. Annually 14% of all greenhouse gases are from agricultural based products, mainly being the methane from cows. Methane is also 23 times more powerful than carbon dioxide in terms of its effects on global warming. To transport the yogurt to the tubbing factory, to tub it and consequently transport it to the grocery store all consume oil to power the diesel or gasoline engines in the trucks or trains, be it one or the other doing the transporting.
Milk: Milk is very similar to the yogurt in the sense that it also uses milk as a key ingredient. Therefore not much more can be said about the pasturing of the cows and their methane excretion. The oil consumption in transporting the milk is very similar, though it replaces the process of fermenting it and tubbing it, to jugging it in a gallon sized milk jug, whereafter it is brought to the grocery store.
Muesli: I consumed a QUAKER box of Harvest Crunch, which is a high source of fibre according to the box. The box itself is made up of microflute corrugated fiberboard. As with all products, the oil consumption from fabricator, to supplier, to store, to cupboard has to be considered, as this is surely very high. Furthermore the oil consumption of the products themselves, because even though this particular brand contains 100% whole grains and no artificial flavors or colors, the tractor that was used to tend to the grains is definitely a consumer. I also have to consider the possibility of the use of pesticides, which is a biological or chemical agent aimed at deterring the growth of insects on crops, according to wikipedia. Further looking at the ingredients of the muesli I see that this contains dried coconut and its oil. Of course we don’t know for sure, but it is safe to say that these coconuts were flown in from a foreign source, adding to the fuel consumption.
Bread: I eat Dempsters brand 100% Whole Wheat bread, which comes in a plastic bag. The plastic is a fossil fuel based product; it is made entirely of processed. Through some further research, I have found the shipping location for most plastic bags, cardboard boxes, and containers to be China. There are many websites on which you can order these items literally by the thousands, which of course consume an extreme amount of oil for shipping, as this has to be done by container ship. (Aside, there is a possibility that containers fall off of the ship, contaminating the oceans and endangering marine life). Similar to the whole grains in the Muesli, these grains could have added pesticides. Again, the tractor used to tend to the crops used oil, as well as when transporting the grains to the bakery.
Nutella: The Nutella comes in a plastic tub, a fossil fuel based product shipped from China to Canada, consuming vast amounts of oil in the process. According to Wikipedia, Nutella contains sugar, modified palm oil, hazelnuts, cocoa, skimmed milk powder, whey powder, lecithin, and vanillin. The processing of the ingredients to Nutella is completed with oil to power the machines, as well as shipping the final product to the supermarket. Going back to the ingredients, we see that a lot of these require maintenance and tending to, and consequently further processes which all require oil. We see then that Nutella is actually a pretty oily good!
Tea: The tea is of the Pickwick brand. Besides all of the oil that was consumed in the production of the plastic, the cardboard consumed a lot of oil through the cutting of trees, transporting them, splintering, shredding, pulping, and consequently the production, as well the paper baggies in which the tea bags are kept. What truly sets this particular tea apart from most others however, is that it has just completed the arduous journey from the Netherlands to Canada, requiring vast amounts of oil in transportation costs. Another key ingredient is the water, and the boiling process it undergoes, which uses electricity. The electricity supplied to us in Vancouver is mainly from 30 hydro generators however, which is clean, save three natural gas fueled thermal power plants. These three natural gas powered power plants are huge consumers of fossil fuels.
Pepper-Nuts: Similar to the tea, these pepper-nuts have recently completed a journey from the Netherlands, already adding a huge amount of oil consumption to the transportation. The packaging is the standard plastic bag, which has been described before. The ingredients are flour, sugar, anise, cinnamon, and clove, where the last three grow freely in Indonesia. This causes a very high transportation cost in terms of fossil fuels, traveling either by plane or ship to the Netherlands, where they are made. The flour and sugar also consumed fossil fuels in the processes talked about previously.