A Diet for the Planet

 The food we eat has an effect on the planet. Meat tends to have the highest impact, as a table from the website Greeneatz.com shows. Lamb (to my surprise) comes in highest with beef not far behind. Even  cheese is fairly high, but of course it comes primarily from cow's milk.   

Rank	Food	CO2 Kilos Equivalent	Car Miles  Equivalent
1	Lamb	39.2	91
2	Beef	27.0	63
3	Cheese	13.5	31
4	Pork	12.1	28
5	Turkey	10.9	25
6	Chicken	6.9	16
7	Tuna	6.1	14
8	Eggs	4.8	11

Vegetables are the most planet-friendly food, and anyone who has spent time in India knows how excellent vegetarian food can be. Fake meat is increasingly available in stores and restaurants, though the additives may make some consumers wary (I am). 

Top chefs take an increasing interest in vegetarian food. The Guardian (9 April 2021) published an article recently about Ángel León who has taken an interest in the "tiny green grains clinging to the base of the eelgrass." The grain turned out to be good: 

"León put the grain through a battery of recipes, grinding it to make flour for bread and pasta and steeping it in flavours to mimic Spain’s classic rice dishes. 'It’s interesting. When you eat it with the husk, similar to brown rice, it has a hint of the sea at the end,' says León. 'But without the husk, you don’t taste the sea.' He found that the grain absorbed flavour well, taking two minutes longer to cook than rice and softening if overcooked."

The plant has other benefits:

"Capable of capturing carbon 35 times faster than tropical rainforests and described by the WWF as an “incredible tool” in fighting the climate crisis, seagrass absorbs 10% of the ocean’s carbon annually despite covering just 0.2% of the seabed."

Altering our diets may seem like a small thing, but small steps add up to a healthier planet.