Three Ways Gardening Impacts Climate Change

How Gardening Can Benefit the Planet and Reduce Our Carbon Footprint

Gardening is considered a relaxing activity, and there are many benefits to starting a gardening hobby. Additionally, gardening is beneficial to the health of our planet, many people do not realize how much their little backyard garden can help the environment.

Let’s explore three ways gardening can help reduce our carbon footprint and combat climate change.

Gardening Decreases Carbon Emissions

It has been estimated that food travels around 1,500 miles from producers to consumers. A decrease in transportation would reduce carbon emissions, which has a huge impact on climate change. If everyone grew their own food, transportation of produce from commercial farms to grocery stores would significantly decrease. No fossil fuels are needed to grow your own food.

According to the UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2021, almost 1 billion tons of food—17 percent of all food available to consumers worldwide—goes into trash bins every year.

Gardening Helps Minimize Waste

Food from commercial farms is often shipped in cardboard containers and wrapped in plastic. Produce can become bruised and damaged during delivery. These damaged products often don’t make it to the produce section in supermarkets. Those on display may be passed over as they lose their freshness and rot.

Once this happens, older or damaged foods are removed, thrown away, and written off as a loss. You decrease garbage and food waste by growing your own fresh and healthy produce.

Gardening Reduce Pesticide Use

According to the most recent report by the Environmental Protection Agency, the agricultural sector accounts for almost 90% of total pesticide use in the United States. Not only are these chemicals released into the air, but they also contaminate our water and destroy nutrients in our soil. These chemicals affect the food we consume, which impacts our bodies. The vast number of pesticides used through commercial farming has a tremendous impact on our environment. When you grow your own food, you decide what method of pest control to use and what goes on your vegetables and into your soil.

All of these factors add up over time. Simply by growing your own food, you can make an impact on climate change. If everyone did this, imagine the difference we could make.