the environmental impact of a single sandwich

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 Sandwiches that can be eaten quickly and easily are popular food from all over the world.


The growth pace of the domestic sandwich market is fast emerging due to the increase in single-person households. As of 2018, the size of the domestic sandwich market was estimated at 545.9 billion won. Among them, the size of the convenience store sandwich market is increasing day by day. Sandwiches blanched kimbap and hamburgers at convenience stores in Korea last year, ranking second in sales after lunch boxes. Convenience store sandwiches are attracting a wide range of consumers by launching sandwiches using seasonal fruits, as well as meat, vegetables, ham and cheese, away from conventional ingredients.



Although it is evolving into a food that is simple, delicious, and nutritious, a study has shown that sandwiches are not food that even considered the environment.

Researchers at Manchester University in the U.K., the home of the sandwich, analyzed the carbon footprint of 40 types of commercial and homemade sandwiches in the U.K. and published it in the European Chemical Engineering Federation's journal Sustainable Production and Consumption.

According to the paper, the British sandwich industry produces the same amount of carbon dioxide as 8.6 million cars emit each year. The amount of carbon dioxide a sandwich emits was significant. The market sandwiches emit at least 739 grams to a maximum of 1,441 grams of carbon dioxide per unit, the report showed.

To calculate the carbon footprint of sandwiches, the research team included greenhouse gases from the entire manufacturing process of sandwiches ranging from material production to packaging, refrigeration and food waste.

The high carbon footprint of sandwiches is due to the high use of animal food as a fast food ingredient. Processed meat such as bacon, ham and sausage, and seafood such as dairy products and shrimp such as cheese, are the main culprits in increasing carbon footprint.

Earlier, the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), an international non-profit environmental organization, analyzed the degree of warming of 197 foods and measured the amount of carbon dioxide emitted per kilogram of food produced.

The results showed that food products that are widely used as a fast food ingredient in sandwiches emit a serious amount of carbon dioxide. Beef emitted as much as 26.5 kilograms of carbon dioxide per kilogram, while butter emitted 12 kilograms of carbon dioxide per kilogram. In particular, butter applied on both sides of bread to make sandwiches increased the production of carbon dioxide during the production process. To make butter, the raw milk is classified into low-fat milk and cream and then goes through the production process of pasteurization, cooling, and ripening. A report by the NRDC found that the entire energy-intensive production process of butter had a negative impact on climate change.

In addition, crustaceans such as shrimp emitted 11.7 kilograms per kilogram, cheese 9.8 kilograms, pork 7.9 kilograms per kilogram and chicken 5 kilograms or more per kilogram.

Vegetarian sandwiches did not have small carbon footprint. If cheese and butter were added to a vegetarian sandwich, the carbon footprint was larger than that of bacon or chicken.

However, home-made sandwiches had fewer carbon footprints than commercial sandwiches. Only 399 to 843 grams of sandwiches are sold on the market. In the case of commercial sandwiches, carbon footprint is added to the refrigerated storage period such as convenience stores and cafes. According to the paper, the total emission of sandwich greenhouse gases is calculated to be one-quarter of the sandwich's refrigerated storage process. In addition, carbon footprint in the packaging phase accounted for up to 8.5% and refrigerated transportation of materials accounted for 4%.

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