Eating to Save the Planet

A tasty veggie burrito with salad
in the Sustainability Centre Cafe

Consumers Choices Decide the Future

However bad global warming gets it's unlikely to destroy Planet Earth. When we talk about saving the planet we really mean saving human beings and the other lifeforms we share our planet with. The choices we make today, this year and for the rest of this decade are likely to decided whether our children inherit a warmer planet which is a bit more difficult to live on but has most of the animals they grew up with and on which most areas are still habitable, or whether they inherit a planet on which most lifeforms will soon die out. 

It's therefore vital that we choose wisely and carefully in order to give our children and grandchildren the best possible chance of a decent future without any more unnecessary suffering than is normal in the world as we know it

What we eat has an affect on our own health, but it also has an affect on the health of the climate and our environment, and so on the health of every living thing.  This means that the choices we make are crucial in shaping the future of life on our planet.

Eat Organic

If we choose some organic produce, not only are we consuming less potentially harmful chemicals, but the  fewer toxic chemicals there will be in the environment from spraying them onto conventionally grown crops and into the surrounding environment, and from rain washing those toxic chemicals into rivers and other water courses. This will help insects and all manner of other wildlife to have a better chance of survival, and we saw I my last blog how important wildlife, and particularly insects, are for a liveable climate and a thriving environment.

Moreover artificial fertilisers, weedkillers, fungicides and pesticides are all made from fossil fuels, so the more of them being used, the worse global warming with become.

You can buy organic fruit and veg in supermarkets or from veg box schemes, or you could grow your own.

Less Meat

If we eat less meat, fewer forests will need to be chopped down to grow grass for grazing. 

We need more farms like Racy Ghyll Farm, run by James Rebanks and his family the Lake District and other people like them, who sometimes call themselves regenerative farmers. They are not intensive farmers. Rebanks moves his stock around regularly so that no area of pasture is overgrazed allowing nature to thrive on his farm. He has also restored hedgerows which had been ripped out when larger fields with room for large farm machinery were the fashion. This more nature friendly form of farming produces less meat than if all the fields were being grazed to the maximum and supplementary feeding was implemented to make up for any shortfall in nutrition, but it's so much better for wildlife and the environment and produces far fewer greenhouse gases than if it were dependent on machinery, artificial fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides. Healthy grassland absorbs more CO2 than overgrazed pasture. A more natural diet with a wider range of fodder plants could even result in better digestion for the livestock and less methane production. 

Moreover, large, intensive farms produce vast quantities of slurry, which can easily wash into rivers adding to the problems caused by the excessive amount of untreated sewage currently pouring into them. This increases the risk of diseases spreading to humans, other mammals, birds, insects and all other wildlife. I understand that it's thought possible that industrial scale poultry farms have helped to spread bird flu. Slurry finding its way into rivers can result in people who swim in them picking up diseases such as E.coli. 

More Food from Plants

If we want to be healthier we are encouraged to eat more vegetables and fruit and other food from plants such as beans, peas and lentils, nuts and grains. Eating less meat also helps to reduce climate change and keep our environment healthier, so basing a lot of our meals on vegetables, pulses, grains and nuts benefits everyone except those with intensive livestock farms. Cashews are great in stir fries and some curries. There are also lots of delicious curries, stews and soups using pulses instead of meat and fish.

Eating less meat doesn't mean eating no meat. You can have beans with a little bit of beef in chilli con carne or you can enjoy a meat free, three bean chilli, which is just as tasty in my opinion, and have the occasional meat based meal. The same applies to everything else. You don't have to become a vegan to make a difference. If everyone in the world ate half the amount of meat they do at the moment, then half the land used to raise livestock currently could be returned to nature and no more virgin forest or ancient woodlands or meadows would need to be destroyed for pasture or to build industrial scale farm units on.

Eat Pulses to Save Money

Eating pulses like peas, chickpeas, beans and lentils is usually cheaper than eating meat. To save money my mum would regularly make lentil soup, especially in the cooler months. Dhals and chilli made with beans but not meat are also cheap and easy to make if you prefer your food on the spicy side. By eating cheaper pulses some of the time you will be able to choose higher welfare meat raised in more environmentally friendly ways when you do eat meat.

So it's worth experimenting with some meat free meals for your health and the health of the planet, and maybe even for the health of your bank balance. What's your favourite meat free meal? Let us know in the comments