Move over flight shaming. In 2020, we may see environmentalists target a new group of individuals: Overeaters. SIphotography / Getty Images/iStockphoto
Move over flight shaming. In 2020, we may see environmentalists target a new group of individuals: Overeaters.
For months now, some have taken to social media to spread their concern about choices made when travelling. Environmentalists have targeted several means of travel, especially by plane, using guilt and public shaming to get people to think differently about their lifestyle.
Even if air travel is responsible for less than two per cent of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, discrediting those who travel by plane is a continuing practice. Air travel does emit GHGs, but this industry is far from being the worse culprit, and many travellers have no other option but to fly to reach their destination. Studies have suggested that reducing the number of flights could lower our carbon footprint. Perhaps, although in some cases, weaponizing science to support a social movement or political campaign has lead to contentious debate.
Similarly, food, even though it can be personal and culturally charged, is not immune to this phenomenon.
Public shaming in 2020 may reach a new, awkward level as we examine how much we eat. A recent study published by The Obesity Society suggests that obesity and overeating generates approximately 20 per cent more greenhouse gas emissions when compared to the diets of people considered to be of “normal” weight. Researchers found that global obesity was estimated to contribute an extra 700 megatons of carbon dioxide emissions per year, or about 1.6 per cent of all man-made emissions, which is almost the same as air travel.
The authors of the new study emphasize it is crucially important that this information does not lead to more weight stigmatization. But given the era we are in, and how social media can interpret science differently, the potential for consumers with excess weight to be stigmatized is real. And some of us can be overly sensitive about this, especially after the holiday season.
Climate change has clearly become an important issue for a growing number of consumers. People have encouraged governments and industries to make changes, and adopt new regulations in order to safeguard the planet. Climate change has also caused consumers to think differently and become better environmental stewards.
That’s all wonderful, but using guilt and dishonour to condemn choices we all make daily is starting to reach uncomfortable levels, especially if these tactics are used against people facing weight challenges.
Obesity is a multi-faceted, highly complicated issue. Genetics, changing health conditions, mental health and our sedentary lifestyles are all factors that can contribute to sudden or long-term weight gain. Many times, factors are beyond an individual’s control. Linking overeating with climate change is indeed a dangerous path to take and should be avoided at all cost. The potential to harm the individual’s self-esteem, as well as focus on a problem as complex as overeating, is an area that should not be trivialized.
What we can and should be having is a serious discussion on food waste, which is more controllable, not as personal and not as complex. We need to reduce the amount of resources it takes to generate food — and that is where our attention should be targeted, not on overeating or obesity. Packaging and plastics also represent a more appropriate target for environmentalists.
The Obesity Society’s study likely won’t help our quest to find a socially acceptable contract between good dieting and our environmental obligations. The year 2019 was marked by divisive debate between those who believe animal proteins are irreplaceable and those who fear our current collective course of meat consumption is not sustainable. Fuelled by reports supporting one view or another, protein consumption has become a polarized, sensitive issue in some food-conscious circles. Considering how food can be as cultural as it is personal, shaming someone for eating a hamburger or steak is insolent.
Some researchers have conceded that the imprecise nature of studying obesity should get readers to consider findings, such as those from The Obesity Society, with some caution. This, however, may not be enough to discourage some to use the study against those they believe are behaving irresponsibly in the face of our climate crisis.
And that would indeed be shameful.
Sylvain Charlebois is Professor in Food Distribution and Policy, Dalhousie University, and Senior Director, Agri-Food Analytics Lab, Dalhousie University.
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