Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Pittsburgh’s Food System
A first-of-its-kind study by a team of 19 Carnegie Mellon University students has estimated the carbon footprint of the entire food system of Allegheny County. Their study tabulates the emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases (GHGs) - mainly carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide - associated with the sum of activities required to get food from farm to table. Their calculations include the emissions from the production, packaging and transportation of food brought into the region, as well as from local distribution and refrigeration, and even landfilling of food waste by residents around Pittsburgh. Allegheny County's food system produces 3.7 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions per year, with each person responsible on average for 3.1 tons CO2e per year. This per-person estimate is equivalent to the emissions of driving roughly 7,600 miles in a typical passenger vehicle. For Allegheny County as a whole, the emissions from the food system are more than the yearly emissions from the generation of electricity required to power all households in the county. Total Greenhouse Gass Emissions = 3.
