Food production has a carbon footprint, just like other products, and is strongly affected by a number of factors including location, water-use, energy use, fertilizers, chemicals, pesticides/herbicides, delivery and shipping, as well as its manufacturing and packaging. Some foods have much higher carbon footprints than other foods. For instance eating a half pound of beef is equivalent to driving 9.81 miles, or 7.4 pounds of CO2 equivalent. A half pound of chicken has a carbon footprint of 0.55 pounds of CO2 equivalent, while potatoes have only 0.13 pounds of CO2 equivalent.

Now, it's not entirely necessary that everyone become a vegetarian, although there are many out there who recommend this, it is recommended to become a more conscious eater and incorporate more vegetarian meals into your diet. A prescription for a low carbon diet includes eating organic and local, less processed foods, food with minimal packaging, and a diet concentrating on fruits, vegetables, grains, and beans, while minimizing red meats and dairy.  Here are the Top 10 Reasons to Eat Grass Fed Meat.

To eat a low carbon diet, follow these five suggestions developed by the Cool Foods Campaign when shopping.

1. Buy Organic - Look for the USDA organic label to ensure that the food you eat is "certified organic." Organic food does not contain harmful toxins and also uses less energy and water to produce.

2. Limit The Meat - Limit your consumption of conventional meat, dairy, and farmed seafood. Buy organic, local or grass-fed meat and dairy whenever possible since these foods are produced without energy-intensive synthetic pesticides and herbicides and may use fewer fossil fuels.  Also, look for wild (not farmed) local seafood.

3. Reduce Processed Foods - Compared to whole foods such as fruits and vegetables, processed foods require the use of energy-intensive processes such as freezing, canning, drying, and packaging. Processed foods are usually sold in packages that contain a label listing the ingredients and are located in the center aisles of most grocery stores. So limit processed foods in favor or whole foods.

4. Food Travel - Choose locally produced foods or foods grown as close to your home as possible. Look for country-of-origin labels on whole foods and avoid products from far away. Locally produced food also helps support our local economy.

5. Minimal Packaging - Packaging materials, like many plastics, are oil-based materials that require energy to be created contributing to climate change. Buy whole foods. Purchase loose fruits and vegetables (rather than bagged or shrink-wrapped), buy bulk beans, pasta, cereals, seeds, nuts, and grains, and carry your own reusable grocery bags. More tips can be found here.

Want to calculate the GHG impacts of specific food choices?  Check out this great calculator on the eatlowcarbon.org website!  Also, the Environmental Working Group released some new data in 2011 which estimates the GHG footprint for 20 different food options.