EconTalk Hannah Ritchie on Eating Local
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Jan 2, 2023 
Hannah Ritchie, head of research at Our World in Data and a senior researcher at the Oxford Martin Program, shares her insights on climate change and sustainable eating. She challenges the myth that local food is always better for the environment, discussing the complexities of food’s carbon footprint. Ritchie emphasizes the importance of data in debunking misconceptions about emissions from food production and advocates for positive climate messaging. She also explores the psychological barriers to adopting meat alternatives and the potential of renewable energy.
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Food Miles vs. Production Emissions
- Transporting food emits CO2, but its overall impact on a food's carbon footprint is small.
- Producing food, including land use and on-farm emissions, contributes far more to its carbon footprint than food miles.
Vast Differences in Food Footprints
- Differences in foods' carbon footprints are vast, ranging from 10 to 50 times between the highest and lowest emitters.
- Beef emits significantly more greenhouse gasses than plant-based options like tofu or soybeans.
Imported Tofu vs. Local Beef
- Russ Roberts gives an example of eating tofu imported from Australia versus local beef.
- He highlights that the imported tofu likely has a lower carbon footprint than the local beef.