Local Plate

Local Plate by david veldkamp from usa

designer's own words:

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Department, food production accounts for over 18% of green house gas emissions in the world. It is second only to electricity production (20%) and is more than transportation (17%). There have been many efforts dedicated to reducing electricity production’s impact (clean electricity, more efficient devices, usage reduction programs, etc.) and transportation’s impact (hybrid and electric cars, bio-fuels, etc.) on the environment. But what is being done to reduce food production’s environmental impact?
Studies led by Rich Pirog at the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University have shown that meals prepared with food from local sources produce 4 to 10 times less greenhouse gases than meals prepared from the average supermarket (less processing, packaging, shipping, etc.). That means eating locally can drastically reduce ones carbon footprint. The LOCALPLATE is a reminder that simply eating local food, even if it is only a fraction of the meal can have great impact on the environment.
If 1/3 of the meal is from local sources that meals carbon footprint is cut by 25%. If 2/3 is from local sources the percentage jumps to 50%. If all of the meal is from local sources the carbon footprint is reduced by 75%! These are big numbers. Let’s put them into perspective. If 1/3 of the world ate local food 1/3 of the time over 120 million tons of greenhouse gases would be eliminated. Changing 1/3 of every meal to local food has the equivalent greenhouse gas emissions reduction as switching to a hybrid car! Imagine the impact of eating 2/3 or all local food. You could have 2 to 3 times the impact of a hybrid car from eating the food on your LOCALPLATE! What other simple act or device can have such a powerful impact?
In addition, LOCALPLATE adds to the dining experience. Foods come in an array of fun colors. Your dinnerware should be fun too! LOCALPLATE offers a variety of colors to fit your tastes
A logical line extension would be a biodegradable LOCALPLATE. Eat local food on the go! It’s perfect for any meal away from home.

More Numbers:
1/3 local food at every meal 360 million tons
2/3 local food at every meal 720 million tons
The entire meal is local food at every meal 1080 million tons

33% Local Food

copy_0_green_plates_08_18_09_p2_final_copy.jpg 66% and 100% Local Food

copy_0_green_plates_08_18_09_p3_final_copy.jpg Local Plate Colors and Options