Food is one of life's essentials, but most of us don't spend much time thinking about the environmental impacts of getting food from where it was produced to the kitchen table. Not so many years ago, Canadians grew a significant portion of their own food. Many of us lived on farms and, even in smaller towns and cities, backyard gardens were common. Now, our tables feature food from across the country and around the world.

All steps - producing food, transporting it to market, and preparing it for consumption - use energy and create greenhouse gas emissions. We have lots of food choices, and some of them are less greenhouse gas intensive than others.