EARTH DAY SPECIAL
Hold the bacon! It’s Chris Packham’s cut-out-and-keep guide to planetfriendly foodstuffs
So many people ask me what we as individuals can do in the midst of a climate and biodiversity crisis. The answer is in front of us. Every time we open the fridge. The planet is literally on our plate.
What we eat, and how it’s produced, is driving the sixth mass extinction of species. Our diets play a key role in tackling climate breakdown and biodiversity loss. By making simple switches at meal times, even occasionally, we can literally make a world of difference – restoring land back to forests, grasslands and wetlands, reducing water pollution and ultimately protecting wildlife.
Here we look at the environmental impact of six meals based on four factors: land use, freshwater use, eutrophication (the nutrient pollution of waterways) and greenhouse gas emissions (the driver of global heating).
For the health of people and the planet, we can’t keep munching through ecosystems like a biodiversity buffet.
My key message is this – it’s what we eat, not where it comes from. Food transport accounts for just six per cent of emissions, so if you want to make a difference, the focus is what’s on your plate, not how it got there.
Research by Emma Smart. Data from: Poore, J and Nemecek, T (2018). Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers.
Science, 360(6392), 987—992, published online at OurWorldinData.org
1 BOWL OF CEREAL
Whether you’re a cornflakes or muesli lover, simply switching the kind of milk we put on our morning bowl of cereal can reduce the amount of land use our breakfast contributes to by a staggering 92%. By choosing soya over cows’ milk, we also reduce the freshwater used to produce that milk by 95%.
2 BACON SANDWICH
Dietary changes don’t have to change the look, feel and taste of our food — the rise of “facon” has transformed this popular breakfast sandwich. By switching from pig to pea protein, which some “facon” is made of, our favourite sarnie can now be enjoyed while producing 92% fewer greenhouse gas emissions and using 84% less freshwater.
3 SALAD
Farmed fish can often be a go-to protein swap for the health-conscious, but what about the environmentally conscious? Tofu is such a versatile ingredient, simply made by combini
