What we eat, and how that food is produced, affects both our health and the environment. About a third of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions is linked to what we consume. Animal-based foods, especially red meat, dairy, and farmed shrimp, are generally associated with the highest greenhouse gas emissions. Plant-based foods such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans, peas, nuts, and lentils – generally use less energy, land, and water, and have lower greenhouse gas intensities than animal-based foods.
Livestock is responsible for a huge amount of methane emissions globally. Methane, another Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission alongside CO2, warms the planet 86 times more than CO2. On the other hand, vegan diets reduce carbon emissions by 46%, water use by 7%, and land use by 33%. If we reduce our meat intake, we can avoid releasing more of this gas into the atmosphere. Even on an individual level, switching to a plant-based diet will significantly lower your contribution to global warming, potentially reducing your carbon footprint by approximately 73%.
Moreover, reducing your food waste can decrease your carbon footprint by 300 kilograms of CO2 a year – that is the equivalent of a car driving 769 miles. Indeed, food waste is responsible for around 8% of total greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing this waste delivers significant climate benefits while simultaneously easing pressure on ecosystems. By decreasing demand for agricultural expansion, waste reduction helps prevent deforestation and protects biodiversity. Additionally, eating with the seasons is also a great eat to reduce your carbon footprint. This is because, usually, they are produced naturally without artificial heat. Local or homegrown foods are lower carbon as well, due to not being shipped or worse, flown huge distances.
The most important step you can take is to throw out traditional meat and dairy products for plant-based alternatives. Our diets will always come with a carbon price tag so focusing on products whose processing and growth is efficient is the easiest path to minimise our impact on the environment.