Consider Plant-Based Foods

Impact

Cost

Free

We all share one thing that can have a significant impact on climate change: the food we eat. Making changes to your eating habits can be done at your own pace and with little financial investment — but have a big climate impact. Energize Boxborough estimates that a family can reduce its carbon emissions by approximately 0.6 tons/year on average by eating less meat and cheese.

An analysis from the World Resource Institute of common protein sources shows the climate impact of various foods. Taking into account production emissions and post-farm emissions like processing, transport, retail, cooking, and waste disposal, it is clear that getting meat to the dinner table generates a lot more greenhouse gasses per kilogram than plant-based proteins.

Make the commitment to eating less foods with high-climate impact and incorporate more plant-based dishes into your meals! World Resource Institute can guide you to the lower-impact foods.

Plant-based foods like beans, nuts, grains and soy tend to be the most climate friendly of all. And there are so many great vegetarian recipes! Make Meatless Monday a family tradition for a start. Buy a vegetarian cookbook and try out some of the recipes. Prepared foods that are plant-based have exploded in variety — look around on your grocery shelves. Many restaurants have vegetarian dishes that are delicious — enjoy them! It’s not hard to dramatically decrease your meat and dairy intake and increase plant-based options. And it’s often healthier! High intakes of vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and other healthy plant-based whole foods can help lower cholesterol and reduce chronic disease.

Keep in mind that food consumption is often only a fraction of a person’s total climate impact. There’s also flying, driving, and home energy use to consider. For more on this, see separate Action Calculate Your Carbon Footprint. But dietary changes are often one of the quickest ways for many people to lighten their impact on climate change.

Steps to Take

Like any good “diet,” consider the commitment to eating fewer animal products which is a lifestyle change that you can maintain over the long run. Go at your own pace but don’t be afraid to challenge yourself. And remember plant-based meals are not just better for the planet — they can be great for your health.

Review the climate impact of various foods from the Environmental Working Group or other similar organizations. Choose foods with less carbon impact.

Reduce or eliminate beef first and try to move down the list of foods with the highest climate impact. Lamb, cheese, and pork also rank high on impact.

Commit to going vegetarian one or more times a week and stick with it. Make meatless Mondays a fun tradition.

Keep your pantry stocked with “go-to” vegetarian ingredients and favorite recipes. Gradually increase your favorite plant-based meals.

Once your family has routinely incorporated vegetarian meals, introduce some vegan recipes that have no dairy or eggs.

Spread the word and get support from others who are reducing their meat consumption. Cook vegetarian at your next dinner party! Many people don’t know about the climate impact of their food choices.

Deep Dive

By eating less meat and cheese, Energize Boxborough estimates that a family can reduce its carbon emissions by approximately 0.6 tons/year, on average. This estimate is based on the MassEnergize Carbon Calculator Methodology, which assumed a 20% reduction from the 1.4 tons of CO2 emissions for the average American diet in 2009 and the average Massachusetts household size of 2.53. Data on the average American diet comes from the World Resources Institute’s 2016 report Shifting diets for a sustainable future. These estimates are for food production.

What’s the difference between vegetarian and vegan? Vegetarian is a broader term for excluding meat from your diet. A vegetarian diet will exclude meat but may include eggs and dairy (lacto-ovo vegetarian).

A vegan diet strictly avoids any food that contains animal products, including dairy and eggs. Once you become familiar with meatless recipes, try adding vegan recipes into your repertoire. Dairy is another food category with a big environmental footprint. Vegetarian and vegan options have exploded in the grocery store! Plant-based cheeses, yogurt, and meat substitutes have greatly improved in quality and taste. You can even get a delicious frozen pizza made with those ingredients. (The New York Times has an excellent Mexican chocolate pudding recipe by famed chef Mark Bittman that uses tofu and is impossible to distinguish from the traditional recipe.)

You can find many resources on the internet. Here are a few:

https://nymag.com/strategist/article/best-vegetarian-vegan-cookbooks.html

https://guidetovegan.com/going-vegan/

https://www.vegansociety.com/go-vegan/how-go-vegan

https://thegreenloot.com/going-vegan-guide-beginners/

Finally, a major study published in 2018 in the journal Science calculates the average greenhouse gas emissions associated with different foods.