識「碳」惜食 要揀低碳飲食
現代人提倡低碳生活，除了把辦公室或家中的空調溫度維持不低於攝氏二十五點五度，或在工作時減少用紙外，原來我們的飲食習慣也會影響地球的碳排放。低碳飲食能救地球，亦對健康有益。以下三大原則或可幫助你實踐低碳飲食： 一、多菜少肉 肉類在生產過程中會排放二氧化碳及其他温室氣體，當中以牛肉為甚。牛隻在消化過程中會排放強烈的溫室氣體「甲烷」，牧養牛隻又需要大量土地，砍伐森林，因此估計生產每公斤牛肉會排放三十六公斤二氧化碳。根據世界自然基金會的《香港生態足印報告2010》，港人於二零一零年的牛肉消耗量達每人三十公斤，以此推算，每名港人因吃牛肉而排放的温室氣體相當於一噸以上的二氧化碳，因此我們應盡量減少進食牛肉，最理想當然奉行多菜少肉的均衡飲食。浸大校園的飯堂亦有提供健康低碳餐單，以鼓勵同事和同學從飲食習慣中減少碳排放。 二、減少廚餘 減少浪費食物也是低碳飲食的重要原則。本地的食物浪費問題嚴重，每日約有三千二百公噸廚餘運往堆填區，各大專院校每天所產生的廚餘亦達四十五公噸（註），因此應選購或主動要求適合自己的食物份量，避免浪費。浸大已於今年三月參與由環保團體綠領行動制訂的「減少廚餘約章」，承諾由今年四月起至明年三月，透過不同措施減少廚餘，並宣揚珍惜食物的訊息，以達致把廚餘減少百分之五的目標。 三、不時不食 農業科技的進步讓我們一年四季都可吃到多類蔬果。但是，種植不合時令蔬果，需使用大量能源作溫室的溫度調節，也需要使用化學劑令蔬果加快成熟。此外，來自外地的食材需要遠途運輸，過程中需要使用燃料和能源，碳排放隨之增加。所以在選購食材時，多選擇來自本地及鄰近地區，可助你減少飲食的碳排放。 大學現正就大學社群對「環保飯堂」政策的意見，制定相關的措施，希望日後推行，能得到大家的支持，推動大學邁向低碳校園。 [註]資料來源：綠領行動2011年3月25日新聞稿
Go Green Eat a low-carbon diet
To lead a low-carbon life, you might consider two simple strategies: set your home and/or office air-conditioners to above 25.5 degrees Celsius and keep your paper use to a minimum. But did you also know that, in addition to other ways of reducing your carbon imprint, your diet also involves carbon emissions? A low-carbon diet saves our planet and it is good for our health too. The following three guidelines may help you to follow a low-carbon diet. 1. Less meat, more veggies Carbon dioxide and other Greenhouse gases are emitted in the production of meat, particularly beef products. Methane, a greenhouse gas contributing to global warming, is released by cattle in the process of digestion. Also, deforestation is often required in order to provide large plots of land for raising cattle. Thus it is estimated that producing just 1 kg of beef releases 36 kg of carbon dioxide. According to the Hong Kong Ecological Footprint Report 2010 released by the World Wide Fund-Hong Kong, per person beef consumption in Hong Kong was 30 kg in 2010. On this basis, each resident of Hong Kong, by eating beef, has emitted more than one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent. Therefore, it follows that we should not only eat less beef but ideally, less meat and more vegetables. To this end, the canteens on our campus offer a healthy low-carbon menu to promote a low-carbon diet among staff and students. 2. Reduce food waste It is also important to reduce food waste. The food waste problem is serious in Hong Kong, with 3,200 tonnes of food wastes sent to landfills every day. The higher education sector alone produces 45 tonnes of food waste (note) every day. Thus it is important to both order and consume sensible portions of food to avoid wastage. The University signed the “Food Waste Reduction” charter initiated by Greeners Action in March and has pledged to not only reduce food waste through various measures from April 2011 to March 2012 but also to encourage people to be judicious in their food consumption so as to achieve the target of reducing food waste by 5%. 3. Eat only what’s in season Advances in agricultural technology enable us to enjoy virtually every kind of fruit and vegetable throughout the year. However, planting fruit out of its natural growing season involves an inordinate amount of energy expended on temperature adjustment and chemicals needed to hasten ripening. In addition, if the fruits and vegetables are grown overseas, transportation involves significant consumption of fuel and energy, thus increasing their carbon footprint. Hence, we can reasonably conclude that carbon emissions can be reduced by choosing fruit and vegetables grown in local and neighbouring areas. The University is formulating a green catering policy and looks forward to your support in promoting HKBU as a low-carbon campus. [ote]: Source: Press Release issued on 25 March 2011 by Greeners Action. | 
