Prime Time 4, Coursebook

Making this world a better place Reading: What and how we consume makes a difference a) Before reading match the words with their definitions. 1. sustainable effect that something has 2. injustice heat, gas, etc. which is sent into the atmosphere 3. consumption a situation in which there is no fairness and equality 4. emissions the amount of something used or eaten 5. impact 1 causing little or no damage to the environment and therefore able to continue for a long time b) Read the text about sustainable production and consumption. The UNO – United Nations Organization – has worked out a plan that includes 17 goals which address global challenges such as poverty, inequality, climate change, pollution and injustice. Goal number 12 deals with sustainable consumption and production. This goal is that our planet’s resources should be used meaningfully and sustainably. These days many natural resources are consumed intensively, and every day more of these resources are used. This leads to problems such as air, water and soil pollution. On the one hand, food production has a huge impact (in agriculture and processing), but on the other hand, we regular household consumers influence the environment with our food choices and eating habits. Consequently, the environment is affected by food-related energy consumption and waste production. For example, each year about a 1/3 of all food produced worldwide goes into the rubbish bins of consumers and shops or spoils due to poor transportation and harvesting practices, about 1.3 billion tons worth around $1 trillion. Interestingly, about 2 billion people worldwide are overweight, but at the same time thousands of people die of hunger, especially in developing countries. Moreover, the food sector is responsible for around 30% of the world’s total energy consumption and around 22% of all greenhouse gas emissions. In order to produce food, much energy is consumed, which adds to climate change. Sustainable consumption and production aim at “doing more and better with less”. This also refers to food production and consumption: from producer to final consumer. It makes a huge difference how products are made, so consumers should be informed about this. So how can each of us try to lead a more sustainable life? Of course, sustainability is a big word, and people think it is very difficult to do anything for our planet, but it is not too complicated. Everybody can help a little bit. Think about the food that we consume, how it is produced and how this affects our planet. 8ny6yu 3 SUSTAINABILITY MAGAZINE 5 10 15 20 64 8 Unit Sustainability sixty-four Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv