Green Your Diet
Eating less meat and dairy is one of the most effective ways to reduce your carbon footprint and improve your health.
Why is this important?
One of the largest drivers of climate change is emissions from meat and dairy production but more and more people are choosing plant-based diets.
In the US two thirds of consumers report they are eating less meat (source) which is great news for health and our climate future.
By enjoying more delicious plant-based meals together we can seriously reduce a major source of carbon pollution and save money, improve health and reduce our environmental impact.
Key Actions
Eat less meat
Make a commitment to regularly eat less meat and adopt a plant-rich diet. In doing so you can improve your health and well-being.
Action:
Create a new healthy, climate-friendly habit by going meatless once a day, once a week, or choosing to eat meat just one meal a week
Calculate your diet’s carbon footprint using the BBC’s food calculator.
Encourage and inspire your friends and family to join you in eating less meat and share this guide with them.
Eat less meat
Make a commitment to regularly eat less meat and adopt a plant-rich diet. In doing so you can improve your health and well-being.
Action:
Create a new healthy, climate-friendly habit by going meatless once a day, once a week, or choosing to eat meat just one meal a week
Calculate your diet’s carbon footprint using the BBC’s food calculator.
Encourage and inspire your friends and family to join you in eating less meat and share this guide with them.
Get inspired by a variety of plant-based recipes
There is a huge world of delicious, nutritious and affordable meals without meat and great resources to cook or plan meals that make it easy.
Action:
You can keep your meals consistent each week through meal planning on Forks Over Knives.
You can curate recipes to your tastes on an app called Kuri.
Ready to go further? Here is a diet planner developed by nutritionists.
See plant-based classic recipes and browse this website for delicious plant-based meal ideas for any occasion.
Get inspired by a variety of plant-based recipes
There is a huge world of delicious, nutritious and affordable meals without meat and great resources to cook or plan meals that make it easy.
Action:
You can keep your meals consistent each week through meal planning on Forks Over Knives.
You can curate recipes to your tastes on an app called Kuri.
Ready to go further? Here is a diet planner developed by nutritionists.
See plant-based classic recipes and browse this website for delicious plant-based meal ideas for any occasion.
Keep learning and talk to others
Educate yourself on the relationship between our diet and the climate and share your knowledge with others.
Action:
Explore these informative articles:
Watch one of these documentaries with friends, family or colleagues
The Game Changers - a documentary following the benefits that plant-based diets have had for elite athletes
Forks Over Knives - a documentary on how plant-based diets can help avoid a huge number of negative impacts on our health
Cowspiracy - a documentary exploring the huge role that animal agriculture plays in climate change and environmental destruction
Keep learning and talk to others
Educate yourself on the relationship between our diet and the climate and share your knowledge with others.
Action:
Explore these informative articles:
Watch one of these documentaries with friends, family or colleagues
The Game Changers - a documentary following the benefits that plant-based diets have had for elite athletes
Forks Over Knives - a documentary on how plant-based diets can help avoid a huge number of negative impacts on our health
Cowspiracy - a documentary exploring the huge role that animal agriculture plays in climate change and environmental destruction
To Consider
Order weekly meal kits
Action:
Trial a meal kit a service based on your country below:
In the US, Australia, Western Europe andNew Zealand: try Hello Fresh.
In the US try Green Chef or Sunbasket.
In the United Kingdom try Mindful Chef or in New Zealand: Ooooby.
Order weekly meal kits
Action:
Trial a meal kit a service based on your country below:
In the US, Australia, Western Europe andNew Zealand: try Hello Fresh.
In the US try Green Chef or Sunbasket.
In the United Kingdom try Mindful Chef or in New Zealand: Ooooby.
How it adds up
The most recent United Nations report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change highlights the massive impact of the global livestock industry.
Emissions from livestock, largely from burping cows and sheep, currently make up almost 15% of global emissions.
Beef and dairy alone make up 65% of all livestock emissions.
Meat consumption is on track to rise 75% by 2050, and dairy 65%.
Meat consists of 55% of the total greenhouse gas emissions from your diet (Source).
Shifting away from plant-based foods can add up to 49% to the global food supply without having to expand existing croplands (Source).
Meal kits do help. One study found that a grocery store sourced meal produces 33% more emissions than one sourced from a meal-kit delivery service (Source).
There’s a great new range of plant-based products. Sales of plant-based alternatives to animal-based foods including meat, cheese, milk and eggs grew 17% over the past year in the US (Source).