From meat to veggies and everything in between, this article is going to be looking at what choices you make surrounding your diet impact the planet.
I have recently started a 75 day challenge, where I don’t eat meat. As an avid meat eater, I knew this was going to be quite the challenge, but I decided to go for it for a number of reasons: one because of the treatment of animals and two, because of the environmental impacts associated with a meat based diet. After starting this journey, I started to wonder if my giving up on my meat was actually having an impact, leading me to this article.
As you can imagine, going into writing this article was rather daunting; there is SO much research out there and everyone has an opinion as to what the most eco-friendly diet is. So, I thought I’d break down everything I’ve found into one neat little blog, which hopefully, will inform you as to what the best diet is for the planet.
Disclaimer: Everybody is different and different diets and lifestyles work better for different people. Hopefully this article will provide you with some useful information that can help you make informed decisions about your diet. Please don’t feel pressured to change your diet based on this article, but if there are any tips or information you have gathered surrounding different diets, please comment and start an open discussion.
Give me the overview:
- The meat based diet is the worst one for the planet, with beef having the highest emissions of any food product. The lowest products are plant-based, such as tofu, chickpeas and lentils
- You don’t have to cut out meat entirely to still help the planet; changing the way you cook food and dispose of food can also have a big impact
- Being more mindful of the products you buy has a huge impact, as buying more locally grown fruit and vegetables means the food themselves has a lower carbon footprint
The Meat Based Diet
First of all, I’ll start with what I assume most of you are aware of: meat is not great for our world. In fact, meat farming is one of the leading causes of greenhouse gas emissions, with the meat diet process from farm to plate contributing 26% of greenhouse gas emissions. Beef is by far the biggest contributor to greenhouse emissions in the meat world, with more agricultural land being required to farm cows than any other domestic animal and crop combined. Beef contributes 65.8kg of CO2e per kilogram, and takes up more land and water, causing more environmental damage. This is not good at all, with climate change being such an imminent threat.
Unfortunately, other meat sources are not far behind; while chicken is significantly lower, it still contributes 16kg of CO2e per kilogram. A chicken breast takes 735 litres of water to produce; that could fill your bathtub 4.6 times! Other livestock, such as fish and molluscs also come with a host of issues, from factory farming to damage to sea wildlife. So, all in all, it’s not looking great for the meat based diet at the moment.
The Vegetarian Diet
The vegetarian diet, on the other hand, has a much lower impact on the planet. Switching from meat to vegetables will drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon and methane. Being vegetarian for a year could save the emissions it would take to remove a small family car off the road for 6 months, which is incredible. A vegetarian diet requires two and a half times less land to grow food compared to meat, and a vegan diet can do wonders for your health. The lowest contributors overall of carbon are tofu, quorn, chickpeas and beans, all of which are below 5kg of CO2e. All of these sources are great substitutes for protein and them being better for the planet is a nice added bonus. So far, it’s looking like the vegetarian and vegan diet is taking the lead. But there is still a lot to get through.
Dairy
One silent killer, which devastated me, was how bad dairy products are for the planet. Anyone who knows me well knows I love cheese. I cannot get enough of cheddar and will take on the strongest you’ve got. So, you can imagine my despair when I discovered how bad dairy, especially cheddar, is for carbon emissions. Cheese is actually more carbon intense than pork, poultry and fish, with hard cheeses having higher emissions than soft cheese as they require more milk to make. This brings in one of the downsides of the vegetarian diet: by giving up meat, often there is a higher uptake of dairy, such as halloumi, yoghurt and crème fraîche, meaning vegetarians are only fractionally improving their carbon footprint. Research has suggested that cutting down on dairy and increasing fruit and vegetables can have a really good impact on the planet.
While the vegetarian and vegan diet is still overall looking more favourable in regards to emissions, there are some more negatives, and here are some of the worst plant based foods for the planet:
Avocado:
In the last 10 years or so, avocado has become somewhat of a trendy food. It seems to have this ability to make anything look more healthy and aesthetically pleasing, with it being served in hip cafes and smart restaurants. It brings a lot of benefits aswell, as it’s high in protein, vitamins and fatty acids, making it ideal for anyone looking to reduce their meat intake.
However, this unsuspecting green fruit actually requires huge amounts of water to produce. Apparently, the avocado tree is not very good at fending for itself, meaning water needs to be constantly provided to help these plants grow. This unfortunately means one tree needs 209 litres of water everyday in the summer. I’m enjoying the bathtub analogy today, so this equates to one large bathtub. A DAY!
This is a huge amount to spare, especially in the dry climates where they are grown, such as California, Chile, Mexico and South Spain, putting a huge pressure on the local environment. In areas where there are water shortages, such as Peru and Chile, the demand for the crop has led to illegal extractions of water from rivers, with this industry being blamed for water shortages in the local areas.
Mushrooms:
This beloved vegetable in the vegan and veggie community is rich in nutrients and is an excellent substitute for meat due to its meat-like texture. While it is still only a fraction of beef’s emissions, producing the button, chestnut and portobello mushroom requires keeping them warm, which in turn requires a lot of energy.
Growing rooms and the compost used to make mushrooms needs to reach 62 degrees for the mushrooms to grow. As they grow, they produce 3kg of CO2 per kilogram of mushrooms, which is the same as saltwater fish and more than tuna.
Peat also is part of the compost mushroom growing process, and unless extracted sustainably, this can damage the delicate bog ecosystems, which are amazing warriors for storing carbon. This can be reduced though, with there being hopes that if more food and agricultural waste is used to make sustainable compost, and if biodegradable packaging is used, this can drastically reduce the emissions of the humble mushroom.
Cocoa:
While Willy Wonka’s chocolate river looked amazing to swim in, unfortunately the cocoa bean is not very eco friendly. It is a major driver of tropical deforestation and is one of the biggest contributors to global biodiversity loss after beef, pork and poultry. It is estimated that 2-3 million hectares of tropical forests were lost to cocoa plantations between 1998 and 2008. For 1kg of chocolate, 11.2kg of CO2 is produced, and cocoa powder releases 33.6kg of CO2 per 1kg. Research has put forward that better information on the impact of different cocoa products would help people make more informed decisions, as the environmental impact of cocoa is so varied across the industry.
Transporting Food
Moving on, regardless of whether its meat, veggies or dairy products, the transport of the food can have a huge impact on its overall carbon footprint. Majority of foods are transported by land or sea, with only 0.16% of food being transported by air, which is great news. Air travel is often used for products that perish quicker, such as blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, green beans and asparagus. Asparagus, actually, is somewhat of an eco-friendly villain in the vegetable world; asparagus has the highest carbon footprint of any vegetable in the UK, with 5.3kg of carbon dioxide being produced for every kilogram of asparagus. This is because they are mainly imported from Peru, so maybe I’ll lay off the asparagus for the time being.
These air transported fruits and veggies can create more greenhouse gases than poultry! Fruits such as strawberries and blueberries are often imported when they are out of season, making a blueberry a not very eco-friendly product in the winter months. I have started to look at the fruit I’m buying when I go to the supermarket, and I’m starting to notice that all of my strawberries and blueberries are imported from Mexico or Spain.
To combat this, sticking to locally sourced fruit and vegetables that are in season is a great option to bring your emissions down. If possible, try and pay attention to how some of your favourite foods are grown and transported, to see what you can do to make a difference. Thankfully, 60% of food is transported by sea, and this is less of a climate impact than it took to grow the product.
Now at this point you might be feeling how I was feeling a bit disheartened. Despite trying to do my bit for the planet, it seems a lot of vegetarian and vegan food also comes with baggage. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be one right answer, or one superfood that will solve all my problems. But hope is not lost. While this may be quite despairing, I can put your mind at rest.
Any vegetarian, vegan or even pescatarian based diet is better than a meat based diet. This graph from Our World in Data shows that beef has a huge impact, and if bought everyday or even a few times a week, this can rapidly increase one’s CO2 footprint. But, this can quite easily be changed. I am an advocate for quorn mince over beef mince any day. It’s easier to use, as you can just chuck it in a pan and let it do its thing and it’s stored in the freezer, making it more fuss-free. You don’t have to worry about having lots of extra oil and fat, like you get with beef, and on the whole, it’s cheaper. My mom is vegetarian, so I’ve grown up with quorn mince, and it makes just as tasty a spag bol as beef mince.
Even just having one or two meat-free days a week can have a huge impact. There’s so many amazing recipes out there that you can a batch cook of for you and your family that don’t have any meat in. While it doesn’t sound like much, just having one day a week where you don’t buy any meat products can bring down your carbon footprint. Or, if you’re up for more of a challenge, you can jump on the trendy veganuary, or what I did a few years ago was give up meat for lent. All of these things will do wonders for the planet, and while it may not feel like it, every little bit helps.
While other vegetarian alternatives, such as tofu, quorn products, lentils and chickpeas, have a bad wrap for being bland and boring. This is what makes them so exciting! Them not having a whole lot of flavour makes them so diverse. There’s so many amazing sources out there so you can get the best out of your meat alternatives. Even at Green Squirrel, we have our own little recipe bank that is full of amazing plant-based recipes that, hopefully, may convince you to try and embrace some veggie and vegan recipes into your diet. At first I was skeptical of tofu, but I’ve found ways to experiment with it. Some ways work better than others, but it’s so diverse and can be put in anything. From stir fries, to curries, I always make sure I have some tofu knocking around in the fridge.
The Way You Cook Your Food
While changing your diet can have a big impact on your carbon footprint, the way you cook and look after food also can reduce climate change. A food’s carbon footprint can not only come from how it’s made, but also how it’s cooked. Research has shown that for some foods, 61% of their emissions come from the way they are cooked. Even for some of our eco warriors, like tofu and veggie burgers, finishing the cooking process adds to 41% of their total emissions.
After doing some research, microwaving is seen as the lowest emission based cooking method, as the microwave only needs to heat the water in the product rather than the surrounding air, like oven cooking does. Plus, the microwave runs from electricity, and if this is from a sustainable source, it’s even better for the planet. Pressure cooking and slow cookers are also very energy efficient.
These are just some ways as an individual we can bring down our emissions, purely by changing the way we cook. Obviously not everything can be cooked in the microwave, but if you’re out all day at work, why not put a curry in the slow cooker; it’s better for the planet and dinner is practically ready when you get home.
Another way to reduce your emissions is through food waste. The average UK household in the UK threw away 8 meals worth of food a week in 2018, which could have saved £60 a month. The emissions of throwing away products can almost be double what it takes to make the dish. So throwing food away is not only bad for your bank, but bad for the planet as well. When food breaks down in a carbon low environment, like a landfill, it releases methane, which is 80 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon. By eating the food instead of throwing it away, it stops its emissions there and then.
Composting is a great way to reduce food emissions; if you cannot access a home compost, why not take part in a local compost community scheme. Composting only releases 14% of the CO2e compared to landfill. If you have a garden, you can make your own compost, which can then be used on your garden to help plants flourish.
Tips and Tricks
If changing to a meat-free diet is a bit daunting, here’s a helpful list of some tweaks you can make to reduce your emissions:
- Reducing how many animal products you are consuming: eating fewer of them or replacing them with a plant based alternative is an easy trick
- Cooking efficiently: using a microwave, a slow cooker and a hob are all more energy efficient than an oven. Try only using an oven for baking or for special occasions rather than everyday use
- Batch cooking is a great way to prepare food, using a fraction of the energy
- Avoid food waste through careful planning and creative cooking: don’t underestimate the power of the freezer. Almost everything can be put in the freezer and it means any leftovers or food that is close to going off can be revitalised in the freezer.
Some stuff I found online is a little bit wacky, like the insect-based diet. And yes, if you’re wondering, it’s exactly like it sounds. Apparently, insects are high in protein and they don’t have the environmental impact of meat. Now I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I’ll be eating bugs anytime soon, but this diet might be something we’re seeing more of in the future.
To Wrap Up…
I do realise that is a lot of information I’ve just thrown at you, so I’ll try and wrap up in the most efficient way possible. Overall, the majority of research has shown that a meat diet is the worst one for the planet, especially one that includes a lot of red meat. While vegetarian and vegan diets are significantly better in regards to emissions, they too come with a host of issues. It seems there isn’t one right answer, and I understand that changing your diet and the way you live is daunting. But my biggest takeaway from this blog post and the one piece of advice I’ll leave you with is to be more conscious about the food that you eat. Try and strive to eat more local produce and be conscious about how you cook your food and dispose of it. All of these things can drastically bring your carbon footprint down, and even having one day a week where you don’t eat meat can have a huge difference.
Currently half way through my 75 day challenge, I am starting to enjoy being experimental and cooking with new ingredients in new recipes. My one bit of advice would be don’t be scared to try something new; you never know, you might enjoy it and you would be doing your bit to protect our beautiful planet.
