A quarter of the greenhouse gas emissions come from food. Small changes can be made to our diet to help reduce these emissions and do our bit for the environment. A lot of these changes have to do with better planning and choosing the right kind of food. (Don’t worry you do not need to be on a vegan diet if you don’t want to.)
Here are some of the things you can do:
- Reduce the amount of meat you eat to once or twice a week or once a month depending on your consumption. Meatless Mondays or Vegetarian Wednesdays are a great idea since livestock (including dairy and eggs) makeup 70% of the land used for agriculture and around 14.5% of total greenhouse gas emissions.
- Plant a small garden to grow basic herbs that are easy to look after. This can be done in a few pots in your kitchen as well.
- Eat more local in-season food that has not been transported from areas far away from you.
- Plan your meals for the next few days or a week to reduce food waste, since 25-30% of food is wasted worldwide.
- If any of the food is still wasted compost it in the garden.
- Eat unprocessed food, since processed food pollutes the environment more.
In terms of food, it is all about reducing your consumption and wastage and not necessarily giving up certain foods. Just reducing consumption of meat (especially red meat) and reducing food waste can help go a long way in being eco-friendly.
Sources:
Moskin, Julia, et al. “Your Questions About Food and Climate Change, Answered.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 30 Apr. 2019.
Nassos Stylianou, Clara Guibourg and Helen Briggs. “Climate Change Food Calculator: What’s Your Diet’s Carbon Footprint?” BBC News, BBC, 9 Aug. 2019.
Simmons, Daisy. “A Brief Guide to the Impacts of Climate Change on Food Production ” Yale Climate Connections.” Yale Climate Connections, 15 Dec. 2020.
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