The Climatarian Diet: Reduce your carbon footprint

With Gen Z and Millennials being more conscious of the climate crisis and global warming than Boomers and Gen X, they are increasingly focusing on means through which they can reduce their carbon footprint. The conscious choice to switch to an eco-friendly lifestyle has made the climatarian diet a popular trend.

The climatarian diet focuses on reducing carbon footprint by consciously choosing food items that do not add to the growing greenhouse gas emissions. A climatarian diet isn’t just about what you eat, it’s about how you shop and cook as well. While some people choose to cut out meat completely, others don’t. The main goal of the diet is to eat more plant foods while limiting or eliminating animal products.

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Here are some ways to adapt to this eco-friendly diet and lifestyle.

Focus on locally grown produce

The goal of the climatarian diet is not an extremist approach like veganism or pescetarianism, but rather to make small changes that collectively make a large difference. When you stop purchasing some exotic salad dressing or coffee beans online and rather buy from your local grocery store, you make the conscious decision to not add on to the global fuel burden, and in turn, help your locals instead.

Limit your sugar intake

Not only is excessive sugar consumption bad for your health, it’s bad for the planet too. Sugarcane is a water-intensive crop that remains in the soil all year long. As one of the world’s thirstiest crops, sugarcane has a significant impact on many environmentally sensitive regions. Sugar mills produce wastewater, toxic emissions and solid wastes that gravely impact the planet.

Swap beef or lamb for chicken

Beef and lamb use much more land and water per kg food produced than other meats. In fact, chicken is the least carbon-intensive option. Swapping beef for chicken can significantly decrease your carbon footprint.

Go nuts on seeds

Great for snacking or adding to smoothies or overnight oats, nuts and seeds are a great source of protein. The most eco-friendly varieties include peanuts, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, watermelon seeds and pumpkin seeds.

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