By: Alyson Lundstrom
(Originally Published on ZeroMe APP)
When you ask most Americans to describe what they consider “American food,” the answer will undoubtedly be a hamburger (not actually ours, but we’ve definitely done our part to elevate its status), a nice juicy steak, or maybe a hotdog.
While we know the food pyramid from health class tells us that this diet won’t lead to Olympic athlete status, we might not consider that our diet choices directly impact the earth.
The Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC), a group of non-partisan scientists from across the globe, releases a yearly report telling us where we are on the climate change path and what we have to do to stave off, well, eventual human extinction.
This United Nations IPCC panel’s most recent report comes bearing good news; we can stop the worst effects of climate change if we can get everyone on board with making a shift; a fundamental change in how we eat.
The All Mighty Fork
Here is a chance to make a meaningful contribution to slowing down the environmental impact that will soon become irreversible by just manning what’s on your fork.
The facts about diet choice and climate impact are clear:
70% of deforestation is related to the clearing of land used for cattle grazing. Meat production requires extensive grasslands and resources needed to maintain the livestock.
Climate change is depleting our freshwater resources, while animal-based diets require trillions of water annually.
78% of ocean eutrophication (the flooding of waterways with nutrient-rich pollutants) is caused by agriculture.
The UN Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change is asking us to make a shift to a flexitarian diet to stave off an irreversible path to detrimental climate change. This means moderating meat intake and incorporating more foods with a lighter carbon footprint.
They hypothesize that if 40% of the population commits to eating more legumes, grains, and vegetables and moderates our intake of animal-based proteins, we can stay on track to achieving food-related greenhouse gas emission targets by 2030.
So there you go, you can have your cake and steak and eat it too. Just less of it. Unless it’s made of legumes, and then, by all means, go ahead.
Start Small, Start Somewhere
You make a choice three times a day: breakfast, lunch, and dinner about the world you want to live in. Maybe five times a day if you add in snacks. Here is how you can combat climate change without leaving your fridge.
1. Eat less and higher quality meat. Look for sustainable, produced, local meat sources.
2. Eat smaller. Simply put, smaller animals like chicken, shellfish, and small fish leave less of a carbon footprint than cattle, pork, and larger farmed fish.
3. Flex it. A flexitarian diet that integrates more plant-based proteins and dairy alternatives will lower your overall “foodprint”
4. Don’t waste. Every scrap that hits the trash bin loses the resources and energy it took to grow, pack, travel, and store before it comes to your plate. Food waste also becomes landfill waste that contributes to harmful greenhouse gas emissions.
5. Vary your diet. We put pressure on monocrops that, in turn, put pressure on farmlands. Globally we have 14000 existing edible plants and currently use only 200 of them. Almost 75% of the world's food comes from just 12 plants and five animal species.
6. Eat Locally. 18% of all food-related greenhouse gasses come from the food supply chain. Eating locally means less cold chain energy required, fewer miles traveled, and fewer fossil fuels consumed.
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