Sustainable Food - Climate Council

To prevent catastrophic climate change, there needs to be a change in the way we use our land and what we choose to consume. The vicious cycle of excess heat waves, droughts, land degradation, and desertification are all contributing factors to agricultural practices and the kinds of food that we eat. The environmental impact of the food system is daunting and is responsible for about a quarter of our greenhouse gas emissions, uses about 70% of our freshwater resources, and occupies about 40% of the Earth’s land surface. In addition to the environmental impact, studies have shown that a simple change from beef to a plant-based protein has tremendous benefits on our health.

Animal-based products, especially beef, have an enormous carbon footprint. Cows are the biggest emission contributors. Methane, a potent greenhouse gas, is emitted directly from cows. Carbon dioxide is also released from the deforestation process to create their pastures. Bill Gates states, “If cows were a country, they would be the 3rd largest greenhouse gas emitter.” A study published in the journal Science, states that beef results in up to 105kg of greenhouse gases per 100g of meat, while tofu produces less than 3.5kg per 100g of protein. Furthermore, livestock provides just 18% of food calories and 37% of protein but takes up 83% of farmland.

A single-food substitution could be the most powerful change when making an environmental impact. The shift from beef to a plant-based protein would not only significantly impact the environment but there are also well-documented health benefits. For instance, the Blue Zones are five regions of the world where people live much longer than average, have the lowest rates of cancer, heart disease, and obesity. The Blue Zone regions include Okinawa (Japan); Sardinia (Italy); Nicoya (Costa Rica); Icaria (Greece); and Loma Linda (California). Dan Buettner, the Blue Zones founder, teamed up with demographers and researchers and discovered that all of these regions have something in common. After an analysis of more than 150 dietary studies was conducted, one major factor they discovered was about 95% of the food consumed within these regions came from plant-based sources.

Furthermore, The China Study, a 20-year study conducted by the Chinese Academy of Preventative Medicine, Cornell University, and the University of Oxford, examines 65 Chinese counties and studies the link between animal products (including dairy and eggs) and chronic illnesses such as heart disease. The China Study’s author, T. Colin Campbell, concludes that counties with higher consumption of animal-based foods had the highest growth of chronic diseases. Additionally, the author determines that individuals who eat predominantly whole food, plant-based diet can stop the progression and even reverse the development of chronic diseases.

What we eat is a huge factor in both the climate crisis and our overall health outcome. Avoiding meat-based products altogether would be the biggest way to reduce our environmental impact through a vegetarian and vegan diet. However, even eliminating a large percentage of our meat intake every week can still be impactful. If individuals kept eating chicken, pork, eggs, and cheese, just replacing beef with other sources of protein such as beans, they would achieve up to a 74% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (Hamblin,2017). The beauty of this kind of modification is that it doesn’t take a change of policy but simply a change of diet. If we can simply reduce our meat intake and cut down our portion size, these modifications can contribute to the most substantive solutions to global warming.

To learn more, visit Sustainable Food at the Climate Council of Greater Kansas City. To learn more about the Blue Zones diet and everything you need to know about The China Study, check out Dan Buettner’s book, The Blue Zones Solution and T. Colin Campbell’s book, The China Study.