A low emissions diet

I didn’t initially understand the direct link between what I choose to eat and the greenhouse gas emissions I cause. The link became clear when I explored the impacts of my actions to reduce my emissions: I reduced more emissions by shifting my diet than I did replacing a 15 year old internal combustion auto (25 mpg) with an electric vehicle that was powered by solar panels. And the shift in my diet didn’t take any capital investment. 

I used a three-step process to estimate the CO2 emissions from your diet. To explore the emissions caused by your diet, here are the three steps that take around 15 minutes to complete: 

Step 1: Calculate the number of calories you eat in a day. If you have a smartwatch (Apple watch, Samsung, fitbit, …), it will tell you how many calories you burn each day. Alternatively, the Mayo Clinic provides a tool to estimate the calories you eat to maintain your current weight. 

Step 2: Document the diet you eat that matches your daily calorie intake. I created a spreadsheet that matches the input you will need in Step 3. You can download the spreadsheet as an Excel Spreadsheet or copy it as a Google Sheet. 

Step 3: Enter the information on your current diet from Step 2 into this webform to estimate your emissions in kg of CO2e per year (what it calls kg of carbon). You can divide by 1,000 to convert the estimate to metric tons of CO2e per year.

Now for the fun part! You can use this same process to evaluate changes you would consider. Maybe shift your beef to chicken, pork and fish. Maybe cut half of your meat out of your diet, or go almost completely vegetarian or vegan. Simply shift your diet you created in Step 2 so that it matches the same amount of calories while including a different mix of food servings. Make sure you get your protein - as you remove meat and dairy, make sure you add servings of “beans & legumes” and “nuts & seeds”. Then repeat Step 3. 

To visualize the emissions caused by different food choices, explore this graphic from Visual Capitalist comparing the greenhouse gas emissions for a kilogram of different types of food. The more servings you shift lower on the graphic, the more emissions you avoid. Rather simple. It is not a purity test or simply virtue signaling. Choosing our diet is part of a decision to accept responsibility for the greenhouse gas emissions caused by your actions.

My personal shift in diet was a slow transition that took years - not an immediate change of direction. I have been making this journey on-and-off for the last twenty years. The significant changes that occurred over the last 4 years come from experiments eating more pork instead of beef, eating meals that did not contain meat, and even exploring nut milks to see if I could find one I liked in my cup of coffee.  (Personally, I settled on Silk 30 with vanilla Almond Milk for my coffee and cereal while Celeste settled on Elmhurst Milked Walnuts). 

If you  are exploring the emissions from your diet, I recommend setting a long term goal: commit to reducing your greenhouse emissions. Then continue to explore the next step for further reductions. You might be able to make a significant shift at one time, but also value smaller shifts like exploring eating vegetarian meals every other day, or swapping out all of your beef and replacing it with fish, chicken or pork. Before eliminating meat from our kitchen, I had gotten really good at cooking pulled pork shoulder in the oven and grill. 

To intentionally change what you eat, I recommend focusing on three points when you have the most leverage and the least immediate temptation.

The first point of leverage is when you plan your meals and make your grocery list. Finding vegetarian dishes that you can prepare in your home is a critical step. Celeste and I have found two cookbooks exceptionally helpful in our meal planning: Power Plates by Gena Hamshaw and The China Study Cookbook by LeAnne Campbell. Without a good suite of recipes that aren’t too difficult to cook, it’s impossible to shift. You can also follow these two authors online: Gena Hamshaw’s blog the full helping and LeAnne Campbell at T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies.

The second point of leverage is having discipline while you grocery shop. What you bring home is what you will eat - and you want to both avoid foods you don’t want and buy enough good food you want to eat. Sounds obvious, but it is amazing how often I have bought a product just to have it in the house (stick of cheese, a couple sticks of butter, some meat for the freezer). And once it’s home, it is likely to be used and eaten. The best way I’ve found to avoid foods I don't want to eat is by showing discipline in the grocery store - before I am tempted at home. Also include alternatives you like to eat. For me that includes fresh seasonal fruit, Chipotle humus, and Garden of Eatin blue corn chips. I like to splurge on a jar of Pecan Butter (instead of peanut butter) - it’s more expensive but it is delicious. Recognize every trip to the grocery store as the time when you choose what you will eat. 

The third point of leverage is when you choose what restaurants you walk into. Many restaurants suggest that they have vegetarian alternatives, but really offer up bland options that appear to be there to appease the vegetarian at a table of meat eaters. Find restaurants that include vegetarian options you enjoy on their menu. This can take some experimentation - and I will admit to having some rather bland and even bad vegetarian meals from restaurants that I won’t return to (more on that in another blog). But I have also found some delicious, enjoyable options for eating out - both on the go and when I want to sit down and enjoy a more formal dinner. I hold that the main decision occurs when I pick what restaurant I am eating at. 

As you explore your diet and your emissions, please share your thoughts and any changes you are trying. And please commit to reduce your greenhouse gas emissions - and then align your actions with that commitment.