How can eating less meat help to protect the environment from climate change?
We’re promoting and raising awareness of Child Friendly Leeds Wish 5 – everyone takes more action to protect the environment from climate change – during February 2024, and we’ve been checking out the Young People’s Toolkit for climate action.
We’re going to explore the Young People’s Toolkit a little, below…
Here’s a snipping of the web toolkit suggesting some ways you can take climate action from the comfort of your own home:
We couldn’t help but notice that one of the handy tips given on there, is about the impact diet has on our carbon footprint. So we want to explore a little more, and consider if changing our habits to a more vegetarian, or even ‘flexitarian’ diet, could be good for our planet and potentially help our health and budgets along the way!
How come meat has a high carbon footprint?
The #Leedsbyexample Young Person’s toolkit says… “Meat has a larger carbon footprint than other foods because of the extra land, water and energy it takes to feed and rear animals.”
But, what about protein?
Remember in the video it said about how you have to feed animals (like pigs and cows) plants to raise them and then eat the meat? Well, the majority of the protein that ends up as part of the meat you eat, actually came from what they ate originally…the plants!
You’ve probably heard some people worry about not getting enough protein to be muscular and strong, when eating a vegetarian diet. But, really, there is no need to worry…big, tough gorillas are herbivores, eating only plants as their entire diet!
So, although protein consumption might not be the issue some people say it is, a quick google tells you that it is harder to get enough of a few particular vitamins (such as vitamin B12, calcium, iron, and zinc) on a vegetarian or vegan diet. This just means supplementing these vitamins would be advised. Not to mention, the young person’s toolkit is simply suggesting going meat-free on one night per week as a start.
What will I eat on my meat-free days?
There’s plenty of choice out there, especially with a lot of plant-based products available. However, check before buying ultra-processed foods. Good hearty fruits and veggies might be the way to go!
Here are some vegetarian recipes that might just take your fancy!
We asked you…
Let us know the meat-free meals you try by commenting on this thread…
