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Sustainability February 22, 2019
Meat isn't the only thing to consider dropping.
With promises of better, healthier bodies, diets are always trending and changing. But diets don’t just have an impact on our health. They also affect our environment. When we strive to live an eco-friendly life, we can’t ignore what we eat.
Every slice of steak or kernel of corn releases some amount of greenhouse gases, but not all foods are treated equally.
If you’re concerned that what you are putting into your body might also be ruining the planet, then read on for a comparison of some of the most popular diet crazes and how eco-friendly (or not so friendly) they really are.
Perhaps you’ve seen a few of these words floating around the internet or your social media feed. They are pretty popular terms and yet, with all of the dieting trends, getting them mixed up is pretty easy.
Veganism is pretty straightforward. Animals and animal products are all out of the picture in this diet. That means no meat and no dairy or eggs. Vegans don’t just monitor their diet either – there are many products that include animal products, including skincare and beauty essentials, that vegans avoid.
Keto and paleo diets, on the other hand, do not have a strict no-meat policy, although there are vegan versions of these diets as well.
The Keto diet goes against the stigma around fats. The enemy isn’t fat, according to Keto, but carbs. On the Keto diet you avoid starchy vegetables like potatoes and yams, grains, fruits and sugars. Your energy then comes from consuming more fats and other nutrients from meats, vegetables, berries and nuts.
Paleo takes a similar approach to Keto though the focus isn’t as much on carbs. Instead, Paleo goes old school. Those in favor of the Paleo diet say that our bodies have not adapted to modern agriculture so we should imitate earlier human diets. This excludes beans and legumes, grains, dairy, some starchy vegetables, too much salt and processed sugars. The Paleo diet still includes meat, though it should be grass-fed.
GHG – it’s not some new acronym that you missed out on. It stands for greenhouse gas, and it’s definitely something you want to avoid if you’re trying to live eco-friendly.
The emissions from our food and its production count for 25% of the GHG emissions globally that are slowly heating our planet. We can’t blame it all on factories and oil. Our everyday choices make an impact, too.
When it comes to GHG and our food, there’s a definite pecking order. Meats come out on top, emitting the most. It only takes 40 grams of UK beef to emit one kilogram of GHGs. On the other hand, it takes 5.8 kilograms of onions or one kilogram of lentils to emit the same amount. Dairy comes next, along with some beans and starchy vegetables. Only 0.8 liters of milk emits one kilogram of GHGs. What we’re really talking about here is the bang for your buck – you can get so many more vegetables and fruits for the same GHG cost of meat or dairy.
Even disregarding the GHG from our consumption of these products, their production must also go into consideration. Things get a little trickier here as it’s hard to rack up the exact GHG from equipment and other things used during production.
However, meat still has the numbers against it. The energy going into feeding, slaughtering and processing livestock and meat is pretty extensive. You’re looking at over half of the non CO2 GHGs and between 19 and 29% of CO2 emissions coming from agriculture. The livestock sector alone makes up 14.5% of human-induced GHGs.
These numbers are not insignificant. If you really want to think about saving the planet, you’ve got to start looking at how we’re raising and consuming meat.
These diets all have restrictions, but it’s the type of foods they avoid that are truly surprising.
After all those statistics about meat, you can figure in that veganism, as the only diet here that strictly avoids meat and dairy, has to be the most eco-friendly diet.
Paleo comes in second because at least the meat is grass-fed, and they do avoid some starchy vegetables, which we’ve seen also can create higher GHG emissions.
Keto comes in a close third. It isn’t much worse off than Paleo, but the meat consumption is encouraged rather than moderated and the type of meat isn’t really specified. Keto also encourages dairy because of the fat content, whereas Paleo avoids this altogether.
However, this ranking is tentative for a reason. There are still other things to consider before making a complete switch, and it might throw a wrench in your plans.
GHG isn’t the only thing to consider. Even if it were, there are still some unfactored environmental costs for each of our food decisions.
Packaging is something to think about for one. The way that healthier foods are packaged aren’t really doing us any favors. Plastics are definitely cluttering up our planet. And the oil used to make them are putting us in a sticky situation.
Transportation is also a factor. It’s important to keep in mind if they fruits and vegetables you’re buying are local or not. All of the trucks, trains and planes it takes to bring food from farmer (or factory) to you need gas, which produces more GHG.
Perhaps the most tricky factor of all is water. Scientific American offers up the complex example of buying beans: dry or canned? The production and cooking method for both involve water, but figuring out how much water each method uses can contribute to a more sustainable diet. Trying to figure it out, for the consumer, is impossible.
Overall, sustainable diets aren’t easy keep. While veganism is the best option, remember to keep in mind these other factors to follow the ultimate eco-friendly diet.
It’s a pretty safe assumption that you should reduce your meat and dairy consumption for your eco-friendly diet, but there are other things you should do as well. Buy local. Reduce your water consumption. Consider the packaging on your produce. It’s not easy to be eco-friendly.
There are no quick answers, and every day we’re emitting GHGs. But reducing our impact where we can is the only way we can move forward. So vegan, Paleo, Keto or whatever, make compromises, reduce where you can and be conscious. We are all responsible for our own lives and the life of this planet.
