Growing Your Own Food Helps Reduce Climate Change
- Jizzy Green
- Jan 20
- 3 min read
Growing food at home or in community gardens has several climate-friendly benefits:
1. Cuts carbon emissions from transport (“food miles”)
Supermarket food often travels hundreds or thousands of kilometres by truck, ship, or plane. Home-grown produce travels a few metres, reducing emissions significantly.
2. Reduces reliance on industrial agriculture
Commercial agriculture is responsible for a large share of global greenhouse gases through:
inorganic fertiliser production
large-scale machinery usage
irrigation on large scale can deplete local water resources
refrigerated storage (huge energy costs)
packaging (really, do cucumbers need shrink wrapping?)
Growing locally means less dependence on these high-energy systems. Home growers aim to conserve water, reduce waste (composting) and work in harmony with nature.
3. Avoids emissions from packaging
Most supermarket produce comes in:
plastic bags
cling film
trays
cardboard boxes
netting
Home gardens require zero packaging, which reduces plastic production and waste (both carbon-intensive).
4. Builds healthier soils that store carbon
Practices like:
composting our garden waste and kitchen scraps
mulching using wool, wood chips, dry grass clippings or seaweed
adding organic matter using our compost
not disturbing the soil and cutting spent plant material at the base and leaving the roots to rot in the soil and feed the microorganism population
These practices increase the soil’s ability to store carbon, keeping it out of the atmosphere.
5. Supports biodiversity
Gardens that include flowers, fruit trees, herbs, and vegetables:
create habitat for bees, birds, and insects
increase ecological and food resilience for humans and other living creatures
stimulate natural pollination cycles by planting seasonal produce and plants
Healthy ecosystems are better at absorbing carbon and regulating climate. When our gardens are healthy, we feel happier being in it and viewing it.
6. Encourages low-carbon lifestyles
Gardening promotes:
walking to collect food instead of driving to the supermarket
eating seasonal food (just because supermarkets sell apples all year round doesn't mean they grow all year round - think cold storage, sometimes the apples you eat are 9 months old!)
reducing food waste by eating what you grow and not purchasing what you see in the supermarket, and it never making it into a meal before being thrown away
cooking whole foods instead of buying processed products
All of this lowers an individual’s carbon footprint and increases our health and well-being.
7. Reduces landfill waste
Composting kitchen scraps instead of sending them to landfill prevents:
methane emissions (a potent greenhouse gas)
soil depletion
8. Strengthens local resilience to climate impacts
Growing local food helps communities cope with:
supply chain disruptions (remember Covid times??)
extreme weather’s impact on large-scale agriculture (think Christchurch earthquakes)
rising food prices (do they ever go down??)
Resilient communities are better equipped to adapt to climate change. Grow On Katikati is building a network of commUNITY food resilience. We share our excesses, give advice, hints and tips to our growing community and provide support to raise successful vegetable and fruit supplies.
We invite you to get involved in growing your own food resilience by joining us! Come see us in action every Saturday 9.30-11am during summer hours, and 9.30 - 10.30am every 1st & 3rd Saturday during winter hours at our Grow On Shed beside Katikati Community Centre, 45 Beach Road, Katikati. See you there!
Or you can email us on growonkatikati@gmail.com for more information.
