The Food Scout

Nothing is more depressing to a consumer than the reality of strictly following a diet for weeks or months and losing only a few pounds as a result. But now there’s a diet that promises to knock off not hundreds — but thousands — of pounds in just 30 days. Best of all, it requires no exercise and doesn’t ask you to cut fat, calories or even your favorite foods.

Of course a look at the fine print reveals that the pounds being reduced aren’t body pounds or food pounds, but pounds of emissions used to produce and transport the foods that Americans eat. A few weeks ago, I wrote about “Training for the Food Miles vs. Fair Trade Olympics,” which discussed the emerging idea of estimating the “carbon footprint” or emissions generated in the growing, production, and distribution of foods.

Now there’s a “Diet” for people who care about reducing their carbon emissions as well. Of course, to lose the 5000 pounds that the David Gershon “Low Carbon Diet” book suggests requires an overhaul of one’s house and lifestyle as well.

But there is a movement in California (where else?) being championed by the Bon Appetit Management Company www.bamco.com to get foodservice companies, restaurants and ultimately restaurant patrons to start a lower-carbon diet by carefully choosing the foods they eat in favor of: shorter farm-to-table distances (regionally produced foods), smarter product selection (domestically bottled water vs. imported), and foods that require fewer emissions to produce (chicken vs. beef production, for example).

BAMCO claims that it will introduce a carbon point system for the foods it serves in its 400 cafes in 28 states that will make it possible for people to make a lower-carbon choice at the corporations, universities and other onsite venues where BAMCO serves foods.

I predict that while it will take awhile (if ever) for trustworthy carbon footprint standards to be set, the Low-Carbon Diet is a bandwagon that companies are going to hop on in coming months and years. Rising gas prices will intensify the adoption rate, as fuel costs will be a measurable factor in determining emissions impacts.