challenge #1: food
Dear participants,
First of all, a big CONGRATULATIONS to you for deciding to take part in the Carbon Challenge adventure! We’ve got a month of rewarding challenges in store for you. Each week, you’ll have the opportunity to discover a variety of actions to take, as well as workshops to help you adopt a more sustainable lifestyle.
1200 of you have signed up to the campaign! Together, by taking these concrete actions, whether they be big or small, we can really make a difference in Geneva 💪
Let’s get down to this week’s challenges! You can commit to one, two or even all three!
Today, we’re tackling a theme that will not leave many of you indifferent: Food 🍽️
If you’re not particularly passionate about this subject, don’t worry, in the coming weeks we’ll be offering challenges on other themes, namely energy and housing, consumer goods, mobility and biodiversity.
Challenge #1: I eat vegetarian for a week 🌱
Benefits: Health 🩺 | Savings 💸 | Biodiversity 🌺
Have you ever tried eating vegetarian for a week?
Eating vegetarian, even for a few days, can be good for your health! In Switzerland, meat consumption exceeds three times the recommended amount per week. By reducing our meat consumption, we also reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and even antibiotic-resistant infections.
What about the planet 🌎 ?
Meat production, particularly red meat, generates high greenhouse gas emissions, accelerates deforestation, and consumes a huge amount of water. Even eating fish can be problematic with overfishing threatening marine biodiversity. The result? A growing number of Swiss people are reducing their meat and fish consumption for reasons of health and environmental awareness.
A golden opportunity…
Take advantage of Carbon Challenge to form your own opinion based on your own experience.
Our advice 🗒️
To succeed in this challenge, anticipate your next grocery shopping trip by selecting delicious vegetarian recipes in advance. That way, you’ll maximise your chances of preparing tasty, nutritious meals for a pleasant transition to new habits and flavours.
Where can I find vegetarian recipes? Our useful links:
- Cookie and Kate helps you find vegetarian recipes according to your diet, the cuisine, and/or the season.
- The Wimpy Vegetarian blog features vegetarian recipes, meal plans and tips for transitioning to a vegetarian lifestyle.
- The Component Cooking section of the NaturallyElla website gives you a wide array of recipes based on the ingredient you search.
Light version 🌿 : I’m committing to a flexitarian week
Flexi-what?
“Being a flexitarian means significantly reducing your consumption of meat and fish without doing without them altogether.”
— Maria Retamales, Director of Swiss Food Academy
Good to know 🧠
Cutting back on beef is the most effective food action for reducing your carbon footprint, as beef dishes are by far the biggest carbon emitters. For your flexitarian week, opt for vegetarian dishes or, if necessary, choose poultry and fish rather than beef.
Source : FR – ADEME Empreinte database
Bonus Challenge 💡: I’m organising a Vegetarian Potluck (the team’s favourite challenge!)
Benefits: Convivial 🤝 | Savings 💸 | Discover new recipes 🍽️
There’s no better way to meet this first challenge than with a vegetarian potluck! It’s a collective meal where everyone brings a vegetarian dish. Plainly, a brilliant way to explore healthy, creative and low-carbon recipes, while getting together with friends, family or your community.
Share your experience! (My Carbon Challenge x Agirageneve partnership)
For the My Carbon Challenge campaign, the Agirageneve collective transition platform has prepared a publication dedicated to the vegetarian potluck challenge! Share your experience of one of the challenges each week on Agirageneve and make your commitment visible 🗣️
Are you organising a vegetarian potluck? Post your photos of the challenge with #MyCarbonChallenge or tag @mondeficarbone on your social networks 📸
Want to go further? 🚀
Encourage vegetarian initiatives such as “Meatless Monday” in your school, company and restaurants. Ecolive offers an awareness-raising workshop on sustainable food on request and as part of the campaign your organisation can even benefit from a discount so get the institutions you know to include its workshops in their approaches!
Challenge #2: I learn about seasonal fruit and vegetables 🫛
Benefits: New ingredients and recipes 🍲 | Support for the local economy 🧑🌾 | Harmony with natural cycles 🌍
Did you know that a greenhouse-grown tomato in Europe emits as much CO2 as a tomato that would be imported by truck from South Africa, via Uzbekistan?
This shows the environmental impact of out-of-season produce. By eating seasonal produce, you are helping to preserve our planet and consume more responsibly.
How do I go about it?
With so much food on offer all year round, it’s not always easy to know which products are really in season. That’s why we’ve made it easy for you! Here are some practical and fun resources to help you:
- Eating sustainably and locally – City of Geneva website
- Extensive and interactive calendar of agricultural seasons in Switzerland – Swiss Farmers
- Fruits and vegetables in season by month – WWF
- Calendar and guide to seasonal fruits and vegetables – Greenpeace
A helping hand 💪
By buying seasonal produce, you support the local economy and regional producers, while discovering unique flavours adapted to Geneva’s climate and terroir. Shopping at the market also allows you to choose products from a short supply chain, often grown in a sustainable or organic way, which promotes biodiversity 🌿
The offer 🔍
Discover new local flavours and old varieties with seasonal fruit and vegetable baskets available on the platform that facilitates sustainable consumption in Geneva: Locali.
Tip 💡
Don’t hesitate to incorporate seasonal fruit and vegetables into your traditional dishes to discover new flavours and enrich your cooking.
Challenge #3: I'm reducing my food waste
Benefits: Savings 💰 | Less hassle 😵💫 | less cooking to do 🍳
The situation
In Switzerland, 1/3 of all food is thrown away! 😯 Per person that’s the equivalent of 330 kg of avoidable food waste per year, a loss of around CHF 600. On the one hand, this loss is expensive, but on the other hand it also increases our consumption of precious resources, such as the water and energy needed to produce this food.
How can I solve this? 🤔
Here are some simple actions you can take to reduce your food waste on a daily basis:
1. Plan your meals every week 📅
This allows you to buy only what you need, so you don’t make impulse purchases or end up with too much food that goes off quickly. This organisation can also save you time and money.
2. Prepare and preserve effectively 🫙
If you haven’t already done so, learn to make the most of produce before it spoils. By freezing leftovers or isolating your herbs you can multiply the shelf life of food. For more tips, check out the useful links below. 👇
3. Find food in alternative ways ♻️
The Too Good To Go mobile application allows you to recover surplus food at a reduced price. The Free-Go association helps you fight food waste through solidarity. There’s no better synergy between your wallet and the planet!
Bonus tip 💡
If you’re not already doing it, think about composting your food waste. It might be free in your town and it helps reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill.
Do you want to go further? 🦸
Contact your local supermarket and restaurant/canteen to find out more about their food waste practices. How do they manage surplus food? Expressing your interest on this matter shows that there is a demand and expectation regarding their approach from the part of their customers.
Ressources Alimentation
Documentation
- (fr) A guide to responsible food consumption in the Canton of Geneva, with useful links for further information.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we would like to remind you that every action counts, and that the most important thing about the Carbon Challenge is to progress at your own pace and according to your own priorities. Together, we are taking several steps towards a healthier, more resilient and more sustainable quality of urban life in Geneva. By taking an active part in the challenges and sharing your experiences, you’re also inspiring those around you to adopt greener habits for the future of us all, and that’s cool! 😎
Our social networks (Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook) and the potluck publication on Agirageneve are there for you to share your commitments and tips to inspire others to take action! 🤜🤛 #MonDéfiCarbone
So, are you ready to take up the challenge and embark on this collective adventure? Let’s move forward, challenge by challenge, towards a more sustainable future! 🌍
