3 minute read
The #LowCarbonCooking Challenge
This Ramadan, we want to challenge you to try the low carbon recipes of some of the best chefs and restaurants in Dubai!
By Musad Afzal, External Relations Officer, Dubai Carbon
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A third of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions come from the food production value chain, but the majority of consumers remain unaware of how emission intensive their diet can be. As Dubai’s torchbearer of low carbon lifestyles, we decided to address this during last year’s Ramadan through the region’s first FoodPrint Calculator.
The team at Dubai Carbon went to work researching the most commonly used foods in the region, combined with ones that were currently popular and would be used most during the month of Ramadan. Then, after sifting through scientific papers, previously done research, and coordination with local authorities, the footprint of each chosen ingredient was calculated.
For the most part, the findings weren’t surprising: red meat and poultry led24 the emission charts, but the outliers were vegetables that were flown in and needed cold storage to be sold in the UAE - such as the beloved avocado. The goal was for residents in the country to understand the importance of non-meat protein alternatives and local produce in the transition to a low carbon diet. The calculator also allowed people to pick frequency of consumption per week to see how much of a difference it would make to reduce consumption of certain ingredients, rather than cut them out entirely.
After communicating this information to Dubai’s community last year, our next step was to empower people through it. With a pandemic at large and people confined to their homes, we witnessed a notable increase in people cooking at home. This would continue during Ramadan, a period in which food is often at the forefront of conversation in the region. Naturally, the team developed the #LowCarbonCooking challenge – a campaign involving Dubai’s best restaurants and chefs to bring low carbon recipes for the community to make them at home.
The response to this has been remarkable from the restaurant industry; from five-star establishments such as BOCA in DIFC joining the campaign to widely known Wagamama contributing their take as well. This not only empowers people to cook their suhoors and iftars at home, it showcases that the best meals can be low carbon, without a compromise on taste or quality.
Throughout the month, we’ll be bringing these recipes to the Dubai community, encouraging individuals and families to try them and send in their videos and experiences, all while staying home. These recipes are downloadable through The Sustainabilist website and showcased across the magazine’s social media. The campaign’s website also has key tips on how to make the complete transition to a low carbon diet, a personal toolkit from the Emirates Nature-WWF, and of course an updated version of last year’s carbon FoodPrint Calculator.
Low carbon lifestyles require behavioural change at their forefront, and currently the world is in the midst of a behavioural change cycle, born out of immediate necessity. Scientists have long said that a similar dramatic shift in behaviour will be needed to fight climate change, and through the low carbon cooking challenge, we want to put the UAE’s community ahead of that curve. The desired result is for large scale adoption of low carbon lifestyles, beginning with the food we consume this Ramadan.
Once the campaign is completed, its results and recipes will be compiled into the region’s first low carbon cookbook, that will be made available to the public for free as an extension of The Sustainabilist and its monthly issues. These recipes and behavioural patterns adopted this Ramadan will aim to be a permanent fixture in this nation’s communities.
