- How does your diet affect your carbon emissions?
- 7 steps to eating more sustainably
- 1 - Eat more plant-based food
- 2 - Improve your cooking equipment
- 3 - Buy more sustainable foods
- 4 - Invest in organic food
- 5 - Consider a Mediterranean diet
- 6 - Reduce your food waste
- 7 - Focus on nutrition
- Eat your way to a greener future
- Meat and dairy products are responsible for over half of the UK’s food-based emissions
- The Action Wheel offers practical steps to adopt more sustainable eating practices
- Key actions include opting for local or organic products, eating more plant-based food, and reducing food waste
You don’t have to own a house or a car to reduce your impact on climate change. You can even make a difference through the choices you make when it comes to what you eat.
While the best way to cut your carbon footprint in the long term is to invest in low-carbon technology, adjusting your diet can make a huge difference as well.
Red meats, highly processed foods, and imported goods, have significantly higher carbon footprints than others, so even small shifts to your diet can help you lead a greener lifestyle, while benefiting your health.
So, to avoid you making a meal out of sustainable eating, we’ve used insights from The Action Wheel to offer some simple changes you can make to your diet today.
We also explain why your journey to a lower carbon footprint can start in your kitchen, and offer some quick wins to get you started.
How does your diet affect your carbon emissions?
The food we eat affects the environment in a major way, and this means our dietary choices are a big part of our carbon emissions.
The UK’s food system accounts for 19% of domestic greenhouse gas emissions, and this figure rises to almost 30% when imports are considered.
Among the biggest carbon culprits and meat and dairy products, with these goods accounting for over half of our country’s food-based emissions.
The consequences continue long after our food reaches the table. Like the majority of developed countries, food waste is a massive issue in the UK, with Waste Managed estimating that the UK wastes approximately 9.5 million tonnes of food every year.
Not only does this mean that the energy and resources used to produce this food were for nothing, but food decomposing in landfills also produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas that’s at least 25 times more powerful than CO2.
While these facts might be enough to make you lose your appetite, it’s important not to be disheartened. Every time you eat, prepare, and dispose of food more consciously, you’re participating in a global effort to lower emissions.
7 steps to eating more sustainably
If the idea of transforming your diet feels like too much to stomach, we’ve got you covered.
Here are some bite-sized actions you can get started with today, using insights from The Action Wheel.
1 – Eat more plant-based food
With an Oxford University study finding that vegan diets produce 75% less heat-trapping gas than meat-rich diets, eating more plant-based foods is probably one of the best behaviours you can adopt for the environment.
- Consider going vegan – Research plant-based alternatives to dairy products like cheese, milk, and yoghurt. If they serve your dietary requirements, start gradually incorporating them into your diet.
- Consider cutting out, or eating less meat – Explore plant-based protein sources and order them when eating out or buy them for home-cooking. Reducing your reliance on red meat like beef is also a good place to start.
- Subscribe to a plant-based meal plan – If you’re stuck for inspiration, make the transition easier by subscribing to a vegan or vegetarian meal delivery service like Purple Carrot or Green Chef.
2 – Improve your cooking equipment
It’s always better to hold onto the kitchen appliances you already have, but making choices about new purchases can also have a big impact on your home’s carbon footprint.
- Replace your gas stove with an induction stovetop – Induction stovetops are less energy-intensive than traditional gas or electric coil stoves. Consider switching if you need a new stove, and if you can buy a high-quality one second-hand, even better.
- Choose smaller kitchen appliances – Smaller appliances tend to require less energy to power. So when shopping for kitchen essentials like blenders, kettles, and toasters, avoid buying appliances that are bigger than you need.
- Cook with a pressure cooker – Pressure cookers cook food much faster than traditional methods oven cooking or stoves, helping to lower your kitchen’s energy use.
3 – Buy more sustainable foods
Food imports are responsible for a third of food-related GHG emissions in the UK. So, purchasing goods that were farmed sustainably and locally is an effective way to support more environmentally conscious food networks.
- Purchase locally produced products in shops – Look for labels indicating products were grown locally when doing your food shop. Try and avoid purchasing goods that originate from different continents.
- Buy from farmers’ markets – Farmers’ markets are a great way to shop for food that has been produced in your local area, minimising the miles from farm to table. Start by researching farmers’ markets near you.
- Buy seasonal fruits and vegetables – Embrace the natural cycles of produce by checking which fruit and vegetables are in season in your region. Seasonal foods are likely to be fresher too, offering the benefit of fresher, more flavoursome goods.
4 – Invest in organic food
Choosing organic helps you avoid consuming synthetic chemicals like pesticides, herbicides, or GMOs. It also supports sustainable farming practices that release fewer harmful pollutants into the environment.
- Shop at organic food shops – Buying certain goods at dedicated organic food shops makes it easier to know that you’re supporting environmentally conscious suppliers.
- Look for the Soil Association logo – In the UK, the Soil Association logo guarantees a product will be made organically. By scanning products for the logo during your food shop, it’s easy to identify which products align with your values.
- Grow your own fruit and vegetables – Growing your own produce in your garden, balcony, or allotment is another way to eat organically. It also helps you be completely self-sufficient, and can be considerably cheaper than buying goods from shops or markets.
5 – Consider a Mediterranean diet
Not only is Mediterranean food delicious, but it also relies heavily on plant-based and unprocessed food, giving it a smaller environmental footprint than other diets.
- Research Mediterranean recipes – If you don’t know where to start, kickstart your effort by exploring Mediterranean recipes. Try to limit dishes with red meat, instead focusing on ones centred around vegetables, whole grains and legumes.
- Eat at Mediterranean restaurants – When eating out, consider going to Greek, Turkish, Lebanese, or Italian restaurants — specifically ones which emphasise fresh and seasonal dishes.
- Create a weekly meal plan – Planning out your meals makes it much easier to stick to a consistent diet. Start by choosing Mediterranean meals, making a shopping list with all the necessary ingredients, and allocating some time for meal prepping.
6 – Reduce your food waste
The average UK household wastes 341g of food and drink per year. For reference, that’s equivalent to the weight of a small adult polar bear. Avoid contributing to this statistic by rethinking the way you buy, store, and consume your food.
- Take a food inventory before shopping – A major culprit of food waste is buying more than you need. Before you leave for the shops, take stock of the food you already have, and use anything up that’s about to expire.
- Preserve food well – Prevent your food from expiring early by storing food correctly. Learn which foods should be refrigerated or frozen, and store leftovers in airtight containers.
- Dispose of good waste correctly – When you do throw out food, consider composting food instead of sending it to a landfill, where it will produce harmful methane gas as it decomposes.
7 – Focus on nutrition
Nutrient-dense food is often more sustainably produced, therefore carrying a smaller carbon footprint. So, not only is eating highly nutritious food good for your personal health, it also tends to align with wider sustainable eating practices.
- Refer to the NHS’s Eatwell Guide – The NHS’s Eatwell Guide uses up-to-date scientific evidence to give clear, visual representations of the types of food needed for a balanced, healthy diet. By using this as a benchmark, you’ll get a clearer picture of what foods to include in your diet.
- Create a nutritious meal plan – Planning nutritious meals ahead of time makes you less likely to give in to the convenience of less healthy, highly processed options. Use insights from the NHS’s Eatwell Guide for direction.
- Eat less processed food – Aside from being worse for your body, highly processed foods typically require more energy and resources to generate. Try to lower your intake of these resource-intensive foods by prioritising fresher alternatives instead.
Eat your way to a greener future
Changing your eating habits takes time and effort. Yet, by reflecting on your current diet and using the guidance above, you can eat your way to a lower-carbon footprint one meal or snack at a time.
Ready to turn over a new leaf? Here are some tips to help you get started.
- Start with small actions, like eating one less meal with meat or dairy per week, before committing to bigger changes
- Research organic food shops, farmers markets, or supermarkets with big fresh produce sections in your local area to see what options are accessible to you
- Keep a diet journal, so you can track your current eating habits and identify areas for improvement
- Schedule time for meal prepping every week, or subscribe to healthy, eco-conscious meal subscription services like Green Chef, Purple Carrot, or Mindful Chef
Watch Lucy Shea, CEO of Futerra, talk about The Action Wheel on episode 8 of Positive Energy below:
