First Bristol food outlet to trial ‘carbon labelling’ on menus

A popular restaurant and live music venue in Bristol will be the city’s first food outlet to add carbon footprint labels to its menu.

The Canteen in Stokes Croft has partnered with Viva! And My Emissions – a company that offers carbon labelling in food to promote carbon transparency in the food industry. My Emissions won the Young Innovators’ award in 2021/2022.

By displaying the carbon footprint of dishes on the menu, The Canteen hopes to contribute towards more environmentally conscious food choices amongst their customers.

Matthew Isaacs, co-founder of My Emissions, points out that the global food industry accounts for around 26 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions: “Climate change is the problem of our generation, and eating more low carbon food is one of the best ways we can reduce our impact on the planet.”

The decision follows new legislation that came into effect in April this year, which requires large restaurants to display the calories of each item on their menus.

The controversial legislation has led to mental health and ED activists questioning whether such a move will really benefit people’s health, and how sensible the move is for those suffering from eating disorders.

Nevertheless, the legislation shows it is clear that the government is able to implement industry-wide rules to inform people on their eating habits, argues Viva!

Could carbon labelling be an alternative to calorie labelling, with the potential for a more positive outcome?

The Canteen already offer a selection of “low emission” vegan and plant-based options – Photo: The Canteen

Head chef at The Canteen, doctor Matthew Harris thinks so: “Including carbon footprints on menus is a positive step in encouraging people to be more aware of the impact of their choices.”

He also added: “If carbon labelling was rolled out across the UK, we’d see restaurants and customers encouraged to make better decisions around the food they consume.”

The Canteen’s initiative follows a trend that reached even COP26’s menus.

Restaurant and hospitality company, Levy and carbon footprint calculator Klimato launched a A Recipe for Change initiative last year, and analysed the carbon footprint of the food served at COP26, informing which dishes had the lowest impact in terms of emissions.

A study conducted by the University of Wüzuburg in Germany and published in PLOS Climate journal, found that when people were given the carbon footprint on food menu items, they were more likely to make healthy, and less environmentally harmful decisions.

During the study, the dishes were labelled as high, medium, and low carbon emissions. Results showed that consumers chose dishes that had less of a carbon footprint, and as a result, food outlets’ greenhouse gas emissions dropped by 13.5 per cent.

Doctor Harris says adding predominantly vegan dishes in food outlets is another way of reducing food outlets’ carbon footprint.

The ‘A recipe for change’ initiative also suggests pushing for more sustainable practices throughout the supply chain, for example through using more local suppliers, including less ultra-processed foods in your diet.

This piece of independent journalism is supported by Natwest and the Bristol24/7 public and business membership

Main photo: Martin Booth

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