Your Diet Can Help Reduce Your Carbon Footprint. Learn More
So, you wish to reduce your carbon footprint. Perhaps, you’d be thinking of switching to greener energy resources. Or maybe, you’d be thinking of boycotting mass-produced factory products. But, is it enough? Or, more importantly, is it that easy? Research shows that 77% of Americans wish to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle. But, only half of them go for any lifestyle changes that are needed. Perhaps, it’s not that easy. Nonetheless, a 2017 study shows that there’s an easy way to reduce your carbon footprint – changing your diet.
Well, before we tell you anymore, consider this – choosing a healthier diet will also help you maintain your wellness and fitness. So, what are these changes that you can bring to your diet and help the earth gain back its health too? Keep reading to know more.
Avoid Processed Foods
Well, it is a no-brainer that processed food can lead to a host of health problems. But, to your surprise, processed food is also responsible for 20%-30% of total greenhouse emissions. Whoa! That’s huge. From crops to livestock, all the food that you get on your plate needs transportation. And this is the primary contributor to greenhouse emissions. In addition to this, the energy needed for processing and packaging the food adds another portion to this emission. So, what you can do is go for local products. Buy seasonal veggies and fruits from local markets instead of glammed-up supermarkets.
Bake The Better Way
Now, you may wonder what baking has to do with greenhouse emissions. Well, let us give you an example. When you’re baking a cake, most of your ingredients come from factories. Well, you might not be able to quit on any of these ingredients, but you can indeed look for alternatives. A simple alternative ingredient could be the baking sweetener you use. Instead of using factory-made sugar, you can go for non-GMO fermented natural sweeteners.
The difference? Natural sweeteners do not need pyrolysis, in contrast to sugar. The process requires petroleum-based catalysts and also exudes a lot of carbon into the atmosphere.
Cut Out On Your Meat
Reports suggest that non-vegetarians have a more significant impact on the environment as compared to vegetarians. There are typically three ways your diet could affect the environment – greenhouse gas emissions, land use, and eutrophication. Meat production affects the environment in all three ways.
For instance, meat storage and transportation consume a lot of energy, leading to greenhouse emissions. Similarly, cattle grazing and feeding also use a lot of land area.
And the most significant impact that the meat industry has on the environment is eutrophication. Most of the animal wastes and dung end up in water sources. Thus, increasing toxic algae growth and reducing the oxygen concentration in water bodies.
If Possible, Grow Your Own Food
Evidently, the food you consume and your dietary habits have a significant impact on the environment. So, what you can do to reduce your carbon footprint is growing your own food.
When you grow your own food, you can choose organic fertilizers and fulfill your needs with even a tiny plot of land. Besides, you also get to feed on naturally sourced food that is less toxic or harmful to your body.
In short, any healthy change in your diet can also benefit the environment. So, it’s a win-win situation, overall.
