Stepping Up To The Plate: The Future of Sustainable Diets

By Ellen Salter
October 2020

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Did you know that food accounts for more than a quarter (26%) of our global greenhouse gas emissions? And that agriculture consumes 38% of the world’s total land area, and more than 70% of global freshwater consumption?

Quite simply, this is overwhelming. But this shouldn’t all be on your plate. It’s up to all of us to do our bit to meet in the middle. Here’s 5 things that you can do to make a difference. Choose 1 today and support a transition to a sustainable future for the food industry:   

Eat Seasonally

Eating seasonally may reduce the carbon footprint of your diet by as much as 10%. But, according to a BBC poll, less than one in ten Brits are aware of the seasonal calendar for fruit and vegetables. You can find out more about what’s in season on a number of websites/resources, such as the BBC Good Food Seasonality Calendar.

This August, there are a range of snazzy delicacies in season, including broccoli, carrots, sweetcorn, spring onions, and beetroot; salmon, prawns, mackerel, and place; and raspberries, strawberries, apricots, and cherries. Can you challenge yourself to eat seasonally this month?

Eat Locally

Eating locally is a great way to reduce the carbon footprint associated with the food miles of your diet. By eating locally, you could reduce the carbon footprint of your diet by up to 11%, and support local farmers, organisations, and small and medium enterprises. Eating locally supports climate justice, social justice, and inclusivity.

Reduce your Meat Intake

Sometimes it’s hard to ‘meat’ in the middle. In recent times, we have experienced increasing conflict between meat-eaters, vegetarians, and vegans and which response is truly best for Mother Earth. But everyone should have the freedom to eat what they want whilst trying to make a difference. If you love meat, try selecting those with a lower carbon footprint such as replacing lamb and beef with chicken and turkey – reducing your carbon footprint by as much as 20%. Become a flexitarian or a vegetarian (reducing your carbon footprint by up to 30%), or become a full-time, part-time, occasional vegan (reducing your carbon footprint by up to 45%).

Reduce your Food Waste

Did you know that annually we waste one third of our food or enough to feed 3 billion people? This is unacceptable – saving just one quarter of this would provide the equivalent amount of food to feed 870 million people each year. And if that doesn’t convince you, it may save us much as £700 per household per year.

Reduce your food waste by eating food in date order; buying less; planning ahead; and using your freezer where appropriate. For those digitally minded, you can also join the food sharing apps such as Olio and Karma to share food with local neighbours and the community. WRAP also recommends taking a “shelfie” – a snazzy weekly photo of your fridge and cupboards to remind you what’s in there.

Consider a Total Approach

Whilst this article has mainly focused on carbon emissions, this isn’t the only consideration when transitioning towards more sustainable diets. There’s water consumption, energy intensity, social value, and sustainable procurement amongst others. And there’s no one correct answer. It’s great if you convert to veganism but eating blueberries in winter probably isn’t the best idea. It’s great if you’re a vegetarian, but there’s nothing wrong with supporting organic farming and farming with strong environmental stewardship principles. And it’s great if you no longer drink dairy milk, but consider which alternative – the environmental impact of almond milk may be as much as eight times greater than oat milk, and oat milk may be up to twice as much as soy milk etc.

Whether you’re plant-based, place-based, or somewhere in between – every little helps. What choice will you make today?

Summary of Carbon Footprint Reductions of Sustainable Diet Initiatives

  • Becoming Vegan – 45%  

  • Becoming Flexitarian – 30%

  • Becoming Vegetarian – 30%

  • Reducing food waste by eating what you buy — 25%

  • Replacing Lamb and Beef with Chicken and Turkey – 20%

  • Eating Locally – 11%

  • Eating Seasonally — 10%

  • Recycling and avoiding excessive packaging — 6%

  • Reducing waste by buying items from the front of the shelves, reduced-price items, and misshapen fruit and vegetables — 2%

Why not try a combination of the above?

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