Episode Details

Our food choices impact climate change and the environment. Here are 3 evidence-based Food Tips to Save the Planet and fight Climate Change.

The planet is burning up. Climate change is our biggest threat

cars and airplanes play are polluting, but our food choices are also a big factor for climate change. food production is responsible for ~30% of green house gases (GHGs)

major changes in food production are needed to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement

so lets look at the top 3 food choices to save the planet. you can reduce more emissions than driving a hybrid, recycling, using LED lighting throughout ur house AND installing solar panels… combined

1, avoid wasting food. emissions from food waste (4.4 GtCO2-eq per year) are in the same ballpark as road transportation: 75% of the transport sector (~7.0 GtCO2eq/year), i.e. 5.25. i.e. thus food waste = approx 84% of the emissions of road transport (see refs)

its households, not restaurants or cafeterias that waste the most

save the earth while saving $

#2, eat more plants. best way to minimize environmental impact is to buy local? type of food is a bigger factor than where its grown. and the #1 environmental burden is cattle. shifting less than 1 day a week from red meat and dairy to other animal foods or vegetables reduces more greenhouse gases than shifting our entire diet to locally grown

replacing beef with beans would achieve about half of the US climate targets

beef requires growing a lot of plants to feed cattle, plus the cows themselves produce a lot of methane (greenhouse gas)

grass-fed beef: better for the animals but not for the environment. it requires more water, land, fossil fuel and generates a larger carbon footprint than conventionally raised

then there’s the issue of deforestation tied to the beef industry. can we find cleaner ways to produce meat? regenerative agriculture? more CO2 retained in the soil? lab-grown meat?

moderate red meat and eat more beans and lentils or smaller animals

foods associated with good health also tend to have low environmental impact
soda: unealthy but low environmental impact. strong trend with dietary shifts that are healthy for us also being healthy for the planet

medium meat-eaters generate 22% less green house gases

try a meatless Monday, buy ugly vegetables or take a delicious veggie dish to the office party

We’re gona crush climate change. the US rejoined the Paris accord this year and Biden just pledged to cut GHG emissions by 50%

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/NutritionMadeS3
Animations: Even Topland @toplandmedia

References:
https://science.sciencemag.org/content/370/6517/705
https://rare.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/2018-CCNBC-Report.pdf
http://www.fao.org/3/bb144e/bb144e.pdf
https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/ipcc_wg3_ar5_chapter8.pdf
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2021/04/rules-eating-fight-climate-change/618515/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211912418300361
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/es702969f
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/