You don’t need to go vegan to call yourself an environmentalist … just eat less red meat.
The meat and dairy industries have been a staple of American culture for a long time. Small family farms are the backbone of our agricultural output and are not the culprit of environmental degradation; on the other hand, large commercial farms have been a significant contributor to soil deterioration, greenhouse gasses, and inefficient land use.
When you buy meat and dairy products at a grocery store, or when you buy a burger at a restaurant, you’re contributing to the demand for meat and dairy production. Realistically, most of us don’t have the time to track where that meat came from, whether it was a commercial farm or a sustainable family farm. It can feel exhausting to worry about the supply chain dynamics of every product you buy. So my #1 tip for you to have the biggest impact with the least effort, is to simply buy less red meat.
Reasons why buying less meat and dairy products helps the environment:
#1: Less food waste. Food waste is a major contributor to climate change. You probably don’t always finish all the meat and dairy you’ve bought for the week before it goes bad. If you buy non-dairy products instead, you have a longer window of opportunity to finish them before they expire.
#2: Cows are inefficient food converters. The amount of water that goes into producing a non-dairy product like oat milk is considerably less than the total input to keep a cow alive for its meat and dairy. Imagine if we used half the feeding input for cows and used it to feed malnourished humans. Check out this link to read more about why animals are inefficient converters of food/calories.
#3: Conventional farming land use is extremely wasteful. Livestock takes up 80% of agricultural land, but only produces less than 20% of the world’s caloric supply. Imagine if we used that land for more efficient farming practices, or gave land back to indigenous communities that were displaced. Livestock can be incredibly beneficial in regenerative farming, but if they exist only to be consumed by humans in the form of meat, we’re missing important agricultural opportunities while creating even more waste.
#4: Your misguided protein obsession causes you to eat too much red meat. The average person should consume between 50–150g of protein in a day. With high protein diets (especially those high in red and processed meats) you’re more likely to increase your chances of developing type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and colon cancer. So instead of eating red meat 3 times a day, you can diversify your protein intake with:
beans
peanut butter
nuts
lean meats like chicken or fish
egg whites
peas
wheat
lentils
mushrooms
Tips for reducing your meat and dairy intake
#1: Try Meatless Mondays! Committing to one day a week without meat is a great low-stress way to dip your toes into this lifestyle. There is no need to overwhelm yourself by trying to change too much of your daily life at once.
#2: Try different plant-based milks and see which one you like the best! Depending on the type of nut, some plant-based alternatives require more water than others. Overall, oat milk and soy milk have the least environmental impact.
Environmental impacts of different milks
#3: If you normally eat meat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, try saving the meat you eat that day for dinner! Give yourself a little reward for not eating meat during your other meals.
#4: Learn how to season and cook plant-based products like tofu. You CAN make your tofu taste like chicken. Check out some of these recipes for inspiration:
https://tasty.co/recipe/stir-fry-tofu-that-tastes-like-chicken
#5: Integrate more fruit and vegetables into your diet. This seems like a no-brainer, but a stir fry with lots of tasty, seasoned vegetables can make you feel full, without feeling heavy like meat would. I recommend vegetables like broccoli, onions, sweet potato, squash, mushrooms, peppers, and cauliflower for good nutrition, protein, and a feeling of fullness.
#6: If you’re buying it less often, you have more time to choose meat from sustainable sources. Try buying local, or researching the companies you normally buy from and analyze their mission and commitment to sustainability. When you buy local, there will be less steps in the supply chain between you and the farm your meat comes from.
#7: Try plant-based restaurants in your city! Many restaurants will offer a plant-based menu that coexists with their standard menu; but there are also fully plant-based/vegan restaurants as well. Try vegan chicken, vegan bacon, vegan beef…it makes the transition to eating less real meat much easier.
#8: When in doubt: eat chicken. Chicken is a lean meat with one of the lowest environmental impacts in the meat industry. If you really want to commit to eating less meat for the environment and for yourself, a simple alternative is to substitute whatever red meat you were planning on eating with chicken.
Ultimately, life is about balance. Your personal eating habits are not the sole cause of the environmental degradation happening around us. Large corporations and militaries across the world create significantly more waste, pollution, and environmental destruction than any of us could create individually. Nonetheless, reducing your personal carbon footprint by decreasing your meat and dairy consumption is a simple way to have a more positive environmental impact. And by sharing this information with your friends and family, you’re creating collective action — which is undeniably influential.
