Xmas carbon emissions over the moon

The season’s festivities are over and you are back to work with a bump, but new research suggests the xmas excess didn’t just bulge your waistline.

Just about the last thing you want to see after the Christmas excess – but did you know the carbon footprint of your Turkey?

According to researchers at The University of Manchester, each UK Christmas dinner is equivalent to 20kg of CO₂ emissions. This would mean the carbon footprint of your Christmas feast was the equivalent of 300 return car journeys to the Moon or 6,000 car trips around the world.

Academics in the School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science based the figure is based on a Christmas meal cooked for eight people, typically prepared and consumed in the UK.

Project leader Professor Adisa Azapagic said: “Food production and processing are responsible for three quarters of the total carbon footprint, with the largest proportion - 60% - being related to the life cycle of the turkey. This includes the emissions of carbon dioxide due to energy consumption along the turkey supply chain and the emissions of methane and nitrous oxide generated due to the agricultural activities to raise the turkey.”

The team estimate vegetables contribute 10% to the carbon footprint, preparation of the meal at home 7%, and the total transport accounts 4.5%.

Researcher Dr Heinz Stichnothe says the contribution of transport is relatively small as the major ingredients are sourced from the UK rather than imported. But the cranberry sauce alone, normally imported from North America, contributes half the carbon footprint related to transport. The calculations have been made using the ISO 14040 methodology for life cycle assessment.

In addition to carbon emissions, significant amounts of materials are used in the supply chain. For example, to feed the turkeys alone requires 12,000 tonnes of wheat, 3,000 tonnes of barley, 4,000 tonnes of rape seeds and 800 tonnes of fish meal.

The research into the carbon footprint of a typical UK Christmas dinner has been done as part of the Carbon Calculations over the Life Cycle of Industrial Activities (CCaLC) project at The University of Manchester.