Regionality & seasonality
How, when and where our food is produced has a major impact on the level of emissions associated with it. In addition to plant-rich food, dishes that are particularly suitable for the season can help protect our climate through a changed diet. If these also come from the region and from organic cultivation, emissions can be saved again and a lot of taste can be gained :).
We can now find most types of fruit and vegetables on the shelves of supermarkets all year round. We take the sight of them for granted so much that while we are suspicious of strawberries in winter, buying zucchini, broccoli and tomatoes in winter is often a matter of course. But to be honest: these specimens often don't taste good - unless they come from the other end of the world, where they could really soak up the sun.
The example of asparagus clearly illustrates the importance of seasonal & regional nutrition - these are the CO2 emissions caused by 1 kg of asparagus:
Asparagus from the region: 0.4kg CO2
Asparagus from Peru: 10.79kg CO2
In addition, products from countries like Brazil are often associated with rainforest clearing or, as in Egypt, exacerbate the local water shortage. This, too, is driving climate change further and further exacerbating the problems that climate change brings with it.
But it is not only important where the products come from, but also whether they are vegetable or animal products.
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This means, for example, that a single kilogram of regional meat generates roughly the same emissions as 8kg of fruit and vegetables from overseas,
a single steak (200g each) from the neighboring farm is about as much as 12 1/2 large avocados (250g each).
You can find more background on thisSwissveg.ch.
A regional diet, appropriate to the season, is in any case very important for climate protection - but if it is not accompanied by a plant-rich diet with little (or even no) animal products, the emissions from animal products exceed the saved ones many times over.
If we would like to advocate a regional-seasonal diet, seasonality is of particular interest, because whenever a food is produced at a different time than it corresponds to nature, an enormous amount of energy is associated with it. It doesn't necessarily have to be a flight from Peru - for example, apples from the region have to be stored in the fridge for months so that we can still find them crisp on the supermarket shelves in spring.
Also, for example, asparagus and strawberries, typical seasonal delicacies, are offered a few weeks before the season, which many who don't look closely doesn't even notice - but their production is only possible with additional energy expenditure. In terms of taste, they are usually nowhere near as good as plants grown at the right time without tools. A pretty seasonal calendar on the fridge and a look at the country of origin when buying are therefore very helpful.
This overview once again clearly shows the special importance of seasonality:
Outdoor tomatoes from Spain:600g CO2/kg
regional tomatoes out of season from the greenhouse: 9.300g CO2/kg
regional organic tomatoes out of season from the greenhouse: 9200g CO2/kg
regional tomatoes out of season from the unheated greenhouse:2300gCO2/kg
regional and seasonal tomatoes: 85g CO2/ kg
regional and seasonal organic tomatoes:35gCO2/ kg
(Source: University of Gießen, Ecology and Agriculture)
Do you want to get active yourself?
Get theseSeasonal calendar appfrom the BZfE and/or print out a pretty seasonal calendar and hang it in your kitchen. When shopping, look at the country of origin of the products. Join the Challenge "14 days seasonal shopping"and exchange ideas with the others in your group - or, if you don't want to do the challenge right away, just do itin the forum under "Seasonal and regional".
You can get it from these providers in Hall
seasonal organic vegetables from the region
(apart from Solawi Hall, all vendors also have non-seasonal merchandise on sale):
At the solidarity agriculture Hall there are only home-grown vegetables. Cultivation is particularly climate-friendly, and no vegetables are sorted out because of blemishes. From April there will probably be young plants, sustainable peat-free soil (20l bags), herbs, sustainable seeds and sustainable fertilizers of non-animal origin on the field again. In summer and autumn there are also fresh vegetables for non-harvest sharers.
The field itself is also worth a walk from the Freilandmuseum parking lot :).
At Hof Engelhardt, too, no vegetables are sorted out because of blemishes. In theyard box plusare vegetables from our own production, in the cold (and little varied time) supplemented by products from the region and partly Germany. His greenhouse is heated with green electricity. During Lent there is10% on the first box (keyword: climate fasting).
Bioland farmKlein-Comburg
Klein-Comburg is open every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. In addition to a range of natural foods and young plants, there are the following products from our own production: potatoes, vegetables, apple juice, meat, eggs, hay and straw in small bales
The Bioland-Hof Krummreiner offers direct sales from the farm in Hessental in the afternoons from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. (except Wednesdays) and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Mainly self-produced goods (vegetables and young plants) are sold, supplemented mainly by bought-in fruit and bread.
Further information & recipes
theSeasonal calendar appfrom the BZfE is very helpful for shopping in the supermarket or planning meals at home.
The Energy Center offers schools (classes 7-9) the free service "Climate protection with bite". Are you interested? Just ask the class or biology teacher :).
cabbage headoffers tasty seasonal recipes in addition to tips for your own cultivation.
You can also find an informative page on the subject with recipes here:https://www.regional-saisonal.de/
