What does eating seasonally mean?

Eating foods in their harvest season

Sustainable Food Quiz: Food Waste, Farming and the Planet

This sustainable food quiz looks at how what we eat affects the planet, from food miles and food waste to the climate impact of beef, the MSC seafood label, seasonal eating, nitrogen-fixing legumes, composting, vertical farms and the United Nations' Zero Hunger goal.

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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 90 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 90s

Basics
What does the term food miles measure?
Waste
Roughly what share of the food produced in the world is lost or wasted?
Climate
Which of these foods usually has the highest greenhouse gas emissions per kilogram?
Labels
Which label shows that seafood comes from a certified sustainable fishery?
Shopping
What does eating seasonally mean?
Farming
Legumes such as beans and peas add which nutrient to the soil?
Waste
What does composting turn food scraps into?
Global Goals
Which of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals aims for Zero Hunger?
Innovation
How does vertical farming grow crops?
Awareness
On which date is the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste held?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: What does the term food miles measure?
Answer: Distance food travels
Food miles measure how far food travels from where it is grown to where it is eaten. Transport is only part of food's footprint, though; how it is produced often matters more.
Q2: Roughly what share of the food produced in the world is lost or wasted?
Answer: About a third
The United Nations estimates that around a third of all food is lost or wasted between farm and fork, while hundreds of millions of people go hungry.
Q3: Which of these foods usually has the highest greenhouse gas emissions per kilogram?
Answer: Beef
Beef has a large footprint because cattle need lots of land and feed and release methane as they digest. Beans and lentils have some of the lowest footprints.
Q4: Which label shows that seafood comes from a certified sustainable fishery?
Answer: MSC
The Marine Stewardship Council's blue fish label marks wild seafood from fisheries that meet its standards. FSC certifies wood and paper.
Q5: What does eating seasonally mean?
Answer: Eating foods in their harvest season
Seasonal produce is usually fresher and can need less heated greenhouse growing or long-distance transport. Strawberries in summer and squash in autumn are examples.
Q6: Legumes such as beans and peas add which nutrient to the soil?
Answer: Nitrogen
Bacteria living in legume roots take nitrogen from the air and store it in the soil, helping later crops grow with less fertilizer.
Q7: What does composting turn food scraps into?
Answer: Fertile soil
Composting lets microbes break down peels and leftovers into rich soil. Food rotting in landfills, by contrast, releases methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.
Q8: Which of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals aims for Zero Hunger?
Answer: Goal 2
Goal 2 aims to end hunger and promote sustainable farming by 2030. Goal 7 is about clean energy and Goal 13 about climate action.
Q9: How does vertical farming grow crops?
Answer: In stacked indoor layers
Vertical farms grow plants indoors on shelves under LED lights, often without soil. They use little land and water but need a lot of energy.
Q10: On which date is the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste held?
Answer: September 29
The UN marks the day on September 29. June 5 is World Environment Day and March 22 is World Water Day.

Sustainable Food Quiz – Eating for a Healthier Planet

The way we grow, transport and eat food has a huge effect on the planet. Food systems use around half of the world's habitable land and most of its fresh water, and they produce roughly a quarter to a third of all greenhouse gas emissions. Small changes in what we buy and how we cook, multiplied by billions of people, can make a real difference.

One of the biggest problems is waste. About a third of all food produced is lost or thrown away, from crops left in fields to leftovers in household bins. That wastes the water, energy and land used to produce it, and food rotting in landfills releases methane. Planning meals, storing food well and composting scraps all help.

What we eat matters too. Foods such as beef and lamb generally have much larger footprints than beans, lentils, grains and vegetables. Many experts recommend diets that are mostly plant-based, with smaller amounts of meat and dairy, and buying seafood with sustainability labels.

Farmers and scientists are also finding new solutions. Crop rotation with legumes improves soil naturally, regenerative farming aims to restore land, and vertical farms grow greens in city buildings. The United Nations' goal of Zero Hunger by 2030 depends on producing enough food while protecting the planet.

This quiz covers key ideas about sustainable food, from shopping to farming.

What This Quiz Teaches

This quiz is useful for students, home cooks and anyone who wants to eat more sustainably.

What food miles are and why they are only part of the story
How much food is wasted and why it matters
Which foods have the biggest climate impact
What the MSC label means
How legumes and compost help the soil
What vertical farming and the UN Zero Hunger goal are

Quick Facts About Sustainable Food

Producing a kilogram of beef needs far more water and land than a kilogram of lentils.
Ugly fruit and vegetables are often thrown away just for their looks.
Bananas are among the most wasted fruits in homes.
Seaweed farming needs no fresh water or fertilizer.
Insects are eaten as a protein source by around 2 billion people worldwide.
Freezing leftovers is one of the simplest ways to cut food waste at home.