From Local to International

On our first full day in Stockholm, Sweden, we went on a green city sights tour. On the tour we visited some of Stockholm's famous sites and had an open conversation with our tour guide. Through this I gained insight to the history of sustainability, its origins and how it affected Northern Europe.

Before the world wars, countries such as Sweden were poor and couldn't afford a grandiose diet of food. Through the war effort and a growing economy, they were able to increase their quality of their food. They are now able to import foods such as avocados from Mexico. This sounds like a great thing and a way to improve the quality of life but it doesn't come without its consequences. The now imported foods carry a large carbon footprint. Fruits and vegetables such as avocados have to be flown or shipped across country on transportation that isn't so eco-friendly.

Through this example we can analyze the 3 P’s: people, profit, and planet. The imported food shows the need for balance between our needs and the effects on the environment. We need to recognize that although it is the needs of the people to have fresh fruits and vegetables all year long it does negatively impact the environment. This also goes along for the need of profit, business needs to function as usual, when trying to convert to a fully sustainable state.

This website allows you to type in food products and how many times you consume it to calculate your diet's carbon footprint!

For example, I love eating an apple for breakfast, it's an easy and healthy grab and go item. Based on the website however it tells a completely different story.

I never would of guessed that one apple is the equivalent of driving 32 miles or could heat my house for 2 whole days. Before this trip, I also never stopped to think about how much water goes into creating my easy breakfast fruit.

Our tour of Stockholm opened my eyes to how great of an impact the smallest things make in the grand scheme of sustainability. It's interesting to note that marketing in the U.S. tends to pair this idea of eating healthy and good for the environment. They tend to use words like "natural" and "fresh" that often pair these two together.

Next time you reach for an apple, think about its journey, the energy it took to create it and the lasting impact of its carbon footprint.