Many people know of the idea of Carbon footprints, but do not think of the wider concept of ecological footprints. This measures not only carbon emissions but includes energy use, water use, and waste production of a person, or population. This is measured against the ability of the environment to supply these needs, many times leading to a deficit (Global Footprint Network, 2015). The world population uses 1.6 times the resources available of the planet (Global Footprint Network, 2015) and with the continued trend of reproduction this number is going to rise in the future. While everyday citizens do not think too much of how far strawberries in January had to travel and what kind of processes even made that possible, they are there nonetheless
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Five Guys gets their potatoes primarily from Idaho and display the exact farmer whose potatoes are being used in that particular store each day. They buy about five percent of the total potato product of Idaho according to the President of the Idaho Potato Commission, Frank Muir (Ellis, 2012). Rick Miles Produce of Rigby, Idaho delivers all of the 2.5 million pounds each week to Five Guys from his association of only 100 families. However, as the brand grew/grows sourcing the potatoes from Idaho has been expanded slightly to include some farms in Washington state. Five Guys does not freeze any of their food during transit to retain the taste quality though this does make it vulnerable to perishing while travelling across the country. The potatoes used in my small order of fries (227 grams according to the Five Guys nutritional information document) require almost 19 gallons of water to grow (Mekonnen & Hoekstra, 2010b). The store uses more water in the cooking process because Along with washing the potatoes, Five Guys soaks them in more water before frying, though they do not dehydrate them for …show more content…
One slice of cheese is placed on the burger and amounts to 19 grams and just under 1 gallon, about 0.82 gal (Mekonnen & Hoekstra, 2010a). This does not include the water that must be used to clean the equipment to turn it from raw milk into cheese, or to clean the trucks that transport that milk to where it is made. Two slices of bacon are added to the burger amounting to 14 grams and 24 gallons of water (Mekonnen & Hoekstra, 2010a). The bacon is cured with water, salt, and sugar which makes the reality higher than what I can find information about (Five Guys, 2015). To produce the 26 grams of onions used on my burger, 2.6 gallons of water was used (Mekonnen & Hoekstra, 2010b). This is strictly to grow the crop and does not include washing or any water used in cooking them. The lettuce (30 g) requires 2 gallons for the two leaves placed on top (Mekonnen & Hoekstra, 2010b) and additional water for cleaning it after harvesting and right before it is served. Lastly, Five Guys states that an average of 17 grams of Ketchup is put on their burgers, so another 2.6 gallons of water is used (Mekonnen & Hoekstra, 2010b). The Ketchup does have, in this serving size, four grams of high fructose corn syrup contributing about 2 gallons to the amount stated before of 140 gallons for the total amount used in the production of high fructose corn
Five Guys gets their potatoes primarily from Idaho and display the exact farmer whose potatoes are being used in that particular store each day. They buy about five percent of the total potato product of Idaho according to the President of the Idaho Potato Commission, Frank Muir (Ellis, 2012). Rick Miles Produce of Rigby, Idaho delivers all of the 2.5 million pounds each week to Five Guys from his association of only 100 families. However, as the brand grew/grows sourcing the potatoes from Idaho has been expanded slightly to include some farms in Washington state. Five Guys does not freeze any of their food during transit to retain the taste quality though this does make it vulnerable to perishing while travelling across the country. The potatoes used in my small order of fries (227 grams according to the Five Guys nutritional information document) require almost 19 gallons of water to grow (Mekonnen & Hoekstra, 2010b). The store uses more water in the cooking process because Along with washing the potatoes, Five Guys soaks them in more water before frying, though they do not dehydrate them for …show more content…
One slice of cheese is placed on the burger and amounts to 19 grams and just under 1 gallon, about 0.82 gal (Mekonnen & Hoekstra, 2010a). This does not include the water that must be used to clean the equipment to turn it from raw milk into cheese, or to clean the trucks that transport that milk to where it is made. Two slices of bacon are added to the burger amounting to 14 grams and 24 gallons of water (Mekonnen & Hoekstra, 2010a). The bacon is cured with water, salt, and sugar which makes the reality higher than what I can find information about (Five Guys, 2015). To produce the 26 grams of onions used on my burger, 2.6 gallons of water was used (Mekonnen & Hoekstra, 2010b). This is strictly to grow the crop and does not include washing or any water used in cooking them. The lettuce (30 g) requires 2 gallons for the two leaves placed on top (Mekonnen & Hoekstra, 2010b) and additional water for cleaning it after harvesting and right before it is served. Lastly, Five Guys states that an average of 17 grams of Ketchup is put on their burgers, so another 2.6 gallons of water is used (Mekonnen & Hoekstra, 2010b). The Ketchup does have, in this serving size, four grams of high fructose corn syrup contributing about 2 gallons to the amount stated before of 140 gallons for the total amount used in the production of high fructose corn