A Digestible Solution to Climate Change
Climate Change can seem overwhelming. As one person, it’s difficult to know where to start, or to believe that you can make any impact on a problem so big. But many people making a series of small changes can make a real difference, and a great place to start is with what you eat.
Why Rethink Your Diet?
Over a quarter of carbon emissions come from food production. Of that, 47.6% of emissions are from raising meat; 18.9% come from dairy; 13.9% come from eggs, fish, and poultry; and only 11.5% come from veggies, grains, and fruits. At the same time, meat consumption has increased by about 20% globally over the past decade. Eating meat has ‘dire’ consequences for the planet – in the U.S. we’ll need to reduce meat and sugar consumption by 50% to avoid serious repercussions. It’s clear we need to find a solution to curb these figures.
You Don’t Have to go Vegan to Lower Your Footprint
Just this past October, a study published in the journal Nature explored guidelines for reducing meat and sugar consumption, a “Great Food Transformation,” it outlines a wide range of strategies and the steps necessary to put such a change into place. Similarly, A new report, published in the British medical journal The Lancet, recommends a largely plant-based diet, with small, occasional allowances for meat, dairy, and sugar.
While asking everyone to adopt a fully vegan lifestyle ASAP would certainly cut down on emissions, it’s just not realistic. For example, simply making changes such as picking chicken over beef would cut your carbon emissions in half. Climate change is a large-scale problem, and it will take participation from everyone to solve it.
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