Would You Change Your Eating Habits to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint?

Absent from this article are human obesity and overconsumption. Cheap food, both in price and quality, plays an oversized role in suffering on Earth. Healthy fats and protein curb appetite. Not sure what the answer is to the humans' aspiration for living large.

i would change my eating habits seeing now how much is impacts the envirment like i only eating meat everday isnt good for the water scarcety and isnt good for the animals. i will not eat meet so reguarily

Well, I know something about carbon footprint but this article completely surprised me. For example, I didn't know that cows, sheep and goats digest their food, they burp up methane which is harmful to the climate. If you think about it, you'll realised that it's dangerous because people all over the world eat meat everyday. As for me, I prefer eating meat and dairy like almost everyone. Of course I don't think it's good for enviroment but I should know that there are a lot of healthy things like vitamins and trace elements. Basically my parents do most of the meal planning, food shopping and cooking and I totally agree with their choices because they keep healthy lifestyle. However, sometimes they buy some sweets and I try to refuse them. Nevertheless, I'm planning to change my diet a little bit. I want to replace some meat with plants and vegetables. It will be difficult because I don't like this type of food a lot.

Let the market determine whether we will eat a planet-friendly diet. End corn subsidies and ban or impose highly stringent pollution controls on meat agriculture. Let the price of meat then rise to reflect the actual cost of production. Add carbon taxes to meat and highly processed/sugary junk food. Use that revenue to vastly subsidize the farming and distribution of fresh fruit, vegetables and grains. If consumers are given the choice between paying $15/lb for ground beef vs. paying $0.15/lb for broccoli, I suspect there will be a lot more vegetable bakes and stir frys for dinner.

Yes, I have been changing my eating habits. Meat almost completely disappeared from our meals after our youngest child became a vegetarian. Her decision was initially based on humane reasons but the environmental impact played also a role. When I saw the Amazon burning I knew that my decision not to eat red meat was right. I will never eat it again!!

No. And it’s also arrogant to claim eating meat is murder and we all know it. That’s an opinion and philosophical proposition, not necessarily fact. Second, of course the numbers used to justify less or no meat are all over the map. It’s hard to convinced people when alleged facts are so variable. Then there’s the non-meat sector, as noted too. Naturally, the quiz to tell us how good or bad our eating habits allegedly are is useless and tells us nothing. It presents 4 options for each of three meals, breakfast, lunch, dinner. That’s 12 options and not one of them even come close to representing what I ate yesterday. For breakfast I had steel cut oats porridge with blueberries. Not there. For lunch, i had homemade clam chowder. No soups at all there. And supper choices were chosen stereotypes to get wanted results. Quiz drink options were orange juice, milk, beer and wine. I sometimes have orange juice, but more often Apple juice or non-alcoholic cider; we drink coffee, teas, milk, tomato juice and nothing alcoholic (just preference). We drink well water, pure and clean (we test it) from an aquifer 175 feet down. But for the ‘cause’, here’s something my American neighbors might consider: cut your serving sizes in half! Anytime I cross the border and order a meal, i get quantities enough to feed two, sometimes three. It’s gross excess. It’s not like that in Canada or Europe. Cut consumption to sane levels, you’ll cut carbon footprints too.

Yes I will certainly do it. Global warming is not only a problem for us, but also a problem for our future generations. So it is not just a problem for us. And I think we should do something to slow it.

Tbh, if the world really took notice and actually cared about the planet they would make it some sort of a law of how much red meat we eat in a week or day, Just by doing that it could make a big difference on the environment and then other countries would take notice and start doing the same.

After taking the “How Does Your Diet Contribute to Climate Change” quiz, my results showed that my eating habits have medium-low impact on the climate. The article says that the medium-low group has “12% of total diet-related greenhouse gas emissions in the US per day… while the highest impact group is responsible for more than 40%.” I am very happy to see that my eating habits don’t hugely impact the environment. A question to be asked is, would I change my meal choices to reduce my carbon footprint? The answer is yes. There are many factors that affect climate change that I can’t easily change, like what’s released from my car when I drive and the impact my clothes have on the environment before I buy them. However, I can easily change my eating habits to have a positive impact on the environment and my body by eating less red meats and more greens.

I believe that changing one’s eating habit could reduce one’s carbon footprint. From the research I have done for my previous English informative writing about global warming; I learned that one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gases is livestock as well as farming. The livestock, like cows and lambs, produces a gigantic amount of methanes into the atmosphere, which directly leads to global warming. Also, according to the data provided by the New York Times, the fossil fuels burned to make fertilizers and to ship food or fertilizers also contribute to the greenhouse gases emission. Now, some might ask that is changing our eating habit significant at reducing our carbon emissions? According to the data provided by a World Resources Institute analysis, if one substitute a third of the red meat he or she eat with pork, chicken or vegetable, he or she’s carbon footprint would fall by 13 percent. With that, everyone should participate to reduce or to rearrange the amount of red meat he or she eats in order to prevent global warming from deteriorating.

Many people think that they cannot nor wont stop eating meat or dairy because you would lose proteins that are needed if you're an athlete, but as an athlete that is lactose intolerant and that has a beef allergy I think I get all the proteins I need. I cannot eat beef so instead is eat other high protein low carbs foods like - fish,eggs,nuts,tofu,and chicken - that are more eco friendly than meat . Now I know not everyone can or will cut out meats or dairy completely but taking small steps with ultimately lead to a healthy and more environmentally friendly lifestyle . Food is only contributing to 14% of our carbon footprint while transportation and what we buy is 28%. So maybe instead of cutting down on food we should cut down on what we buy and what we drive.

Reading responses to this article, I noticed that many of my peers are doubtful that one more person becoming a vegetarian will truly make a dent in the amount of greenhouse gas coming out of the livestock industry. And they’re right. One person isn’t going to tip the balance. They’re also right when they point out that it is unrealistic for everyone to completely give up meat and/or other animal products due to cultural values, health, family, or plain convenience. But it’s not unrealistic for communities to work on lessening or reducing their meat intake. That will come when the consumer is given an easy route to choose a meal that contributes less to global warming. It’s hard for a consumer to argue with the research connecting meat and greenhouse emissions, but it’s not hard to ignore the problem when the solution isn’t convenient. If everyday consumers, people walking into the grocery store, were given information on how to cook a family meal without meat, or how to fuel an athlete using low impact foods, they would be more inclined to follow through. When a shift towards a more sustainable diet becomes a societal change instead of an individual change, tangible results can follow.

I’m currently taking an environmental science course, and we’ve talked a decent amount about what we eat and how it affects the environment. I already knew that beef and lamb were the worst offenders, but I didn’t fully realize how much they contribute to climate change. As a part of my class, I have to eat “green” for three days and record how I feel, what foods I eat, and how I feel. I’m not really looking forward to doing it, but it will probably be an interesting experience. The article has helped give me some ideas about what to eat and what to avoid. My current diet probably isn’t completely sustainable but isn’t too bad either. I tend to eat a lot of chicken and drink a lot of milk, but don't eat steak very often. Before reading the article, I didn’t know just how much worse beef is for the environment than poultry. I don’t think that I could ever go fully vegetarian or vegan for an extended period of time, but I could definitely give up beef.

Around last November, I made the decision to officially become vegetarian. I was lenient around Thanksgiving and Christmas time so I didn’t seem rude, but after the holidays, I became very consistent with it. I became vegetarian for two reasons. First, I wanted to find a way to reduce my carbon footprint, and second, I didn’t even eat a lot of meat to begin with, so it was easy for me to be consistent with the diet. As well, I’m very lucky to have parents who supported me and continue to do so, and I know that a reason a lot of people can’t change their diets is because nobody else in their family will change with them. I understand that most people who still eat a lot of meat and dairy are probably shocked to hear how much of an impact consuming meat and dairy has, and they may not want to be completely vegetarian or vegan. That’s understandable. But, even just reducing your meat and dairy intake can make a difference. Try veggie burgers instead of regular ones, buy dairy free milk instead of the regular kind, etc. There are easy switches most anybody can make that would still make a difference. Plus, in the article, it says that if the average person simply reduced their red meat intake by 1/3, it would still make a significant difference. It’s unrealistic to assume everybody can completely give up all meat and dairy products, but if we all become just a little more aware, and reduce our meat and dairy intake a bit, it could still make a difference.

Yes, we need to do a better job of improving our environment, but is removing or reducing the food we enjoy eating the only way? I don't think that reducing the amount of meat and dairy you consume is going to make a significant impact. Obviously if lots of people decided to contribute to this then yes it would, but I don't think that majority of our population is willing to completely remove our consumption of meat and dairy, including me. As an athlete, I have grown up listening to my parents telling me to fuel up on protein. If I don't do so, then my performance will be affected and it could affect my body while in action. I guess this isn't always the case, but I do believe that with the amount of exercise I get 6 of the 7 days of the week, I need protein to refuel my body. I have tried to limit the amount of dairy I consume for other purposes, but I haven't made much progress. I never realized how much dairy I ate until I started trying to reduce it. I've always wondered how people are able to be a vegan because I can't imagine myself living off of a diet with no meat or dairy. Those two categories of food are a part of my lifestyle and as much as I try to reduce those foods, it's too challenging. I think that people working towards helping the environment should continue what they are doing and reducing their "carbon footprint," but there are some people, including myself, that just can't make that lifestyle change.

I agree that we all need to take step to help the environment, but there are a few problems with this. One- will I even make a contribution? Two- being an athlete is it even possible to limit my consumption of meat? And three- how will we get everyone on board? I am one person and there are meat industries that are worth millions of millions of dollars. They have the support of most of the consumers in America and across the world. Also, they don't care about whether or not they are helping the environment, only about making money. I am only one consumer, if I'm not buying meat someone else will surely take my place. There is also the question of is it healthy for me to cut meat from my diet. I am a high school athlete. Most days of the week, right after school, I go to track practice (which is an hour and 30min) then immediately after I go and swim for two hours. My body needs protein to refuel. If I don't fuel my body correctly I could get injured, sick or not perform at the level that I should. Even if I did want to try to decrease the amount of meat I ate I don't think I would the rest of my family on board, which is problematic. My parents are the ones that prepare my meals and I'm sure that it is the same with most high school students. If I don't like what my parents make me I either suck it up or don't get dinner. My dad will always eat meat, no matter what anyone else says, and because he is the one that cook the meals I will have to eat it too.

I don’t think I could give up red meat and dairy completely, because it’s something I’m so used to eating. To try to make a little difference, I could cut back on buying it. I could reduce my food-related emissions by around 13% if I replaced a third of the beef I consume with pork.

I think that changing my eating habits may be a good thing. first of all I think it could improve my health. Also it looks like I would be helping out the environment by eating healthy. An article by Julia Moskin Brad Plumer Rebecca Lieberman and Eden Weingart states, "Livestock accounting for around 14.5 percent of the worlds greenhouse gasses each year." This shows that cutting down on eating animals aka livestock could help lower our carbon production. A way to do this could be going vegetarian. Another study by this article said that vegetarians foot print is one third smaller then that of a meat eater. I found this troubling because i know very few vegetarians and it is probably the same around the world. In the end I think that in the end one or two people will not make the difference and there's going to have to be a big movement. I think the best mass way to help is by lots of people going vegetarian.

I feel like i wont change my eating habits unless i have health problems because i love food and I eat most anything that I want to. Especially when I crave something or I’m in the mood. So nothing will ever really change my eating habits unless I’m in bad health.

People shouldn't have to change their eating habits to reduce their carbon footprint. I don't think that one person changing changing their eating habits can stop global warming. One thing i found very troubling was that americans consume dairy and red meat on the daily. Dairy and red meat are the two most harmful food groups to the environment. Recently I have started to eat healthier, and me eating healthier has started to reduce my carbon footprint. I learned a lot about my carbon footprint. I learned that my diet affects climate change a decent amount. After taking the quiz I learned that my diet is in the middle between eco-friendly and harmful.

I have never been restrictive on my diet because of how it would change my carbon footprint. After taking the quiz on where I stand on the scale of low to high of my impact on climate change I see that most the foods I eat do not have a big impact on climate change. Because of that, I do not think I would need to make changes to my diet. I have a friend who does not eat red meats because of how bad it is for the environment. She has never supported red meats because of how strong her belief in the negative effects it has are. I never looked into the details to see what exactly the costs are of raising and eating cattle are. The New York Times says, "And if we want to feed a growing population without adding to global warming or putting increased pressure on the world’s forests, it would make a difference if the heaviest meat eaters cut back." As 1 person, I know cutting out red meats and dairy won't make a big impact. As a society, if we all cut back, that will make a difference. But, many people will never get on board with the idea because they try to convince themselves climate change isn't real. Telling people to change their diet won't have much of an effect, but how farmers raise the cattle can make a difference.

I don’t think that I should have to change my eating habits because the government aka Democratic Party says that global warming is happening it’s going to happen either way back when the ice age happened in order for that to melt the earth would have to warm up as known as global warming the earth works in a cycle it goes through is periods of time right now in this period of time we are going through a warming period.

I would not change my diet for reducing the carbon footprint. The world is already screwed up. I’m not gonna change my diet for a lost cause.

I would not make alterations or give up my diet for the sake of “reducing my carbon footprint.” Although it is good to be environmentally conscientious, it is simply unpractical to change one’s diet for the sake of reasons which have no obvious impact upon that person. If I were to cut out the grilled meats of beef and pork which I commonly eat out of my diet for example, the short story for me would be that I would have less to eat of what I like and what is usual for me -- there would be no perceivable benefit for me to change my diet so drastically for the sake of “my carbon footprint” which is not apparent to anybody on this earth. In addition, I believe that a person’s diet is a reflection of their culture. For instance, the Mediterranean diet which stems from my family’s culture is one of the most basic and important building blocks of the preservation of our customs. In our example, we happen to eat a lot of meat and products. Although the article asserts that we are leaving large “carbon footprints”, it really doesn’t matter to us -- it’s our way of life and no statistic which affects nobody yet concerns everyone is going to change that. Likewise, what does it matter to a poor family in Vietnam if what they eat is “not good for the environment”? All that matters to them is that they are not hungry. So, as mentioned before, this alteration of diet for the sake of “carbon footprints” is impractical and meaningless for the vast majority of humanity, including myself.

My diet was said to be medium-low on the scale of how climate friendly it is. I learned that meat and dairy product are the most non-eco friendly food options. I wasn't really surprised by this. Mentioned in the article they said that livestock release the most green house gases into the atmosphere.Luckily my diet consists of very little meat. The only meat that I eat is chicken. Also dairy is a big part of my diet because I eat a lot of yogurt and cheese. Now that I know that meats and dairy are harmful to the Earth I will try to find more alternatives to eat.

Going on a diet to lose weight is already difficult. Therefore, going a diet to reduce my climate footprint would be also be difficult. Diary is something I consume almost everyday in my life everyday, overtime it has become a necessity to me. Agriculture isn't the only thing that contributes to global warming. Cars and electricity are big factors that should be perceived. We can make things less complicated by doing other things than going on a diet. For example closing our light during the day to save electricity. Since deforestation is another cause to global warming, we can also contribute by planting more trees. Lastly I believe going on a diet isn’t the best way to help our environment.

My family often eats meat, fatty, and generally unhealthy foods. I, myself, tend to stick to a healthy diet that excludes meat, which I have an allergic reaction to. I'm a vegetarian, but not exactly by choice, you see. Normally I make my meals from salads, smoothies, pastas, everything as plant-based as it gets. I would say my diet is very climate friendly, I even grow my own lettuce, tomatoes, and other fruits and vegetables in my backyard specifically for my meals. Now, what a lot of people don't realize is that it isn't just animals that give off these 'greenhouse gasses'. These emissions are caused by more than just us, more than just living beings. Every time we start a car, turn on a gas stove, burn charcoal for a bbq, that's impacting our atmosphere and it's something people do /every day/. If we wanted the Earth to be 100% healthy and avoid climate change, there isn't anything we can do ourselves because we are the problem, the cause, and the solution. Humans are a plague, and the reason the Earth is heating is because of us. It's like a fever, making attempts to kill the disease, and we're the disease. Even if everyone were to change their diets now, it wouldn't really matter because we're all still giving off gasses. When we die, when animals die, everything gets released. If we didn't eat the animals, the methane is still produced. In all, we can try all we want to reduce our carbon footprint, but as long as the human race exists, global warming is inevitable.

This article is utter garbage, the point of this was to pin global warming on people who prefer different kinds of foods. Having a specific diet does not mean that you contribute to climate change. You, eating the food does not have a carbon footprint, the means of having it shipped and other things along those lines have one. All food that is sold has a carbon footprint, it doesn't matter what it is. Some people switch because they don't believe that it is okay to eat certain foods, and that is fine, however; blaming people for their eating habits is stupid. Some of the things that were taken into affect the study was animals digesting food and burping... this shows the kind of reasoning put into this. With this ideology killing the animals for food should be helpful as if they are dead they can't create methane through excrement or burping.

I am only 15, so my parents contribute to the planning of a lot of my meals, and based off the article I would say I fall under the guidelines for what choices you should make to lesser your carbon footprint. Not always though, I still enjoy red meat every now and then and personally I think I would find it difficult to shake foods like steak, burgers and cheese. Although it may be hard to do, I think it is important to get as many people on the trend as possible to reduce our footprint.

I already eat on a diet that has a low contribution to carbon emissions, I eat on a vegan diet and I have been for about a year now. What actually really got me hooked on being a vegan was how it was much less taxing on the earth and better for the environment it was. Being a vegan means no meat, dairy, eggs or animal product of any kind and I get asked all the time, how do you do it?, or is it hard being a vegan? I always say its not that hard being a vegan when you remind yourself of the positive impact you are creating in the environment. Did you know it takes about 12,000 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef, and people eat around 250,000,000 tonnes of meat worldwide each year? When it comes down to the specifics, the pilign amount of numbers become scary. The rest of my family still eats on a normal omnivore diet, but at least half of the week they eat some sort of vegan meal to substitute their normal dishes. For example some night my mom makes us vegan mac and cheese out of gluten free pasta and a plant based substitute of cheese. My brother enjoys even more than I do and we still save energy while doing so!

The likelihood that I am going to make a drastic change in my diet is very unlikely. I am probably one of the most selfish people that have ever lived on this planet, so I am not inclined to change myself for the greater good. I have the mindset that I am not enough to change something as large as the Earth. I also find meat and dairy products to be incredibly delicious and for these reasons I won't go vegetarian or vegan anytime soon. I also don't like most vegans. They always try to push their views onto you which just makes me want to change even less. I think activist groups need to come up with new tactics instead of screaming and yelling in your face. I think that vegans suffer from this problem and are sometimes seen as weird or unintelligent because they always say something like, "I feel in touch with nature and the universe" I think that this does make you sound weird and lessens the likelihood that I will subscribe to your ideology.

For as long as I can remember I’ve been concerned with what goes into my body and for the our earth, but I never really thought that those two things had any correlation. I now know the food I was eating affected the world around. Upon gaining this knowledge a year ago I made a conscious decision to no longer eat red meat. This decision wasn’t a hard one, the pros of not eating red meat heavily outweigh the taste of a greasy burger from McDonalds. It’s also worth mentioning that I am also lactose intolerant, so I try avoiding dairy as often as possible. This has been something I’ve dealt with my entire life so the decision to consume less dairy was not as hard as giving up red meat. I had two main reasons as to why I gave up red meat, the first being that red meat is bad for your health and the second being that the killing of animals that produce red meat have detrimental effects on the environment. For example, when a cow dies they produce excess methane which contributes heavily to the greenhouse gases which are choking our earth. I would say that my diet is climate-friendly but it could be better. In the future I would like for my diet to become more climate-friendly by becoming vegetarian or even vegan. I think that everyone should try to become more aware of what they are eating and what it does to our earth. If we continue living the way we are now, their won’t be any animals left to make our food and there won’t be anywhere to slaughter and consume these animals

A little over a year and a half ago I gave up meat and dairy for my self. To this day I love my new lifestyle. Overall I feel cleaner and more in sync with our planet and the universe. When I decided to change my diet it was because of personal beliefs behind this brutal industry, not necessarily for the planet. My family and I all are very conscious with our footprint, buying strictly products in glass containers, using reusable canvas bags and saying no to single use plastics as often as possible is embedded in our daily routine. I never thought that I would be on this restricted diet, but now see it for the better. I know I will stick to it, no longer for just myself but the wholesome world around us. My results to the short quiz provided placed me in the lowest group, responsible for less than 10% of the total diet related greenhouse gas emissions, in the US daily. This doesn't shock me, but confirms that the actions I take matter, and there are results. I don't see America immediately switching over to the plant based lifestyle, but hopefully some will start to realize just how easy and better it is for everyone to make the change. I hope that the 14.5% of the greenhouse gasses coming from the meat and dairy industry decline. Because who would have thought that this is nearly the same amount as our vehicle's emissions. Not necessarily meaning you never eating meat or cheese again, but just being aware of your choices and their consequences.

Taking the quiz and receiving the result of having a high impact on the environment, I was shocked. I never thought of eating a steak as being harmful to the environment. Well, knowing this now, I don't think it will change my eating habits drastically, but it will change my mentality. Once in a while I love a good steak dinner; with a side of mashed potatoes or some grilled vegetables. Except, after reading this article, knowing that it damages the atmosphere, that will be on my mind. But it is also a wake up call, how almost everything you do somehow, in some way, affects your surroundings. Knowing what I said earlier about not changing my diet, because that is too much, I will change, or at least attempt to change my actions in other ways. Ways including reducing waste, saving electricity, carpooling, the smaller things to help the environment.

Honestly, no, I wouldn’t drastically change my eating habits to reduce my carbon footprint. My family already buys responsibly raised, grown, and sourced food, and while I don’t eat the best possible ways to reduce my carbon footprint, I’m hardly one of the worst offenders. On top of that, I simply couldn’t go vegan or even vegetarian, meat tastes too good and I’m not strong-willed enough to go without it. That said, I have endless respect for vegetarians and vegans for the service they’re doing our environment. While livestock does contribute to about 14.5% of greenhouse gas emissions according to the article, it’s shifting the blame to say people need to change their diets. Factories produce much more greenhouse gases than livestock does, but big companies that profit from the factories would rather tell you that you’re a bad person for eating beef because they release methane and areas have to be cleared for them to live. That’s just corporations moving the responsibility to everyone else instead of finding cleaner ways to do anything. That’s why I wouldn’t change my eating habits, and I don’t think many other people should have to either.

The meat industry is one of the most detrimental industries to the environment. Clearing out trees for land for grazing, methane from cows, run off collecting animal waste; there's no benefit from the meat industry. The benefit of animal products, a propaganda created in the last two centuries for business, is non existent. Milk does not make you big and strong. There are plenty of non-animal related sources of protein. Just because you like bacon too much to give it up, doesn't mean we should all have to lose our planet. That being said, for those of you who will continue to eat animal products, at least try to reduce your consumption. I'm not trying to sound like a crazed vegan hipster, I still eat some animal products occasionally, but the article even states that just reducing how much animal products you consume alone will make a small difference. Imagine the entire world.

Global warming is a problem we can’t undo. We can slow it, but not stop it. When I found out from the passage that 14.5% of greenhouse gases come from livestock, that was a bit of a shock. The big contributor was the factories unloading smog into the atmosphere and the millions of cars, I thought. I feel and am very insignificant in this fight. Dietary change is one step we can make, but at what gain? One person going vegetarian won’t put the livestock industry out of business. Aside from the well over 2 thousand calories I need to support my 16 year-old, growing male body, the foods listed that would help reduce my carbon footprint are the very accessible and very delicious. Not to present myself as selfish, but I want those foods and to not stain my conscience whenever I go off plan. If it were an emergency that lie on my shoulders, I would switch, but my health is what’s important to me.

On the quiz, I scored medium-low, which means I am in the group that is “responsible for 12 percent of total diet-related greenhouse gas emissions in the United States per day… while the highest-impact group is responsible for more than 40 percent.” I am in this group because my diet consists of very little red meat and a lot of plant-based foods. Red meats like beef and lamb are some of the worst foods for the environment due to cows and lambs releasing methane, which is a greenhouse gas; because of this, I eat very minimal amounts of red meat, usually only once per month. As far as dairy goes, that is a little bit harder for me to cut down on because of how much I love cheese and yogurt, but I am taking steps to cut back by choosing alternative options made with almond milk or coconut milk instead of cow's milk. I was surprised to read that organic foods don’t necessarily have a better impact on the environment than non-organic foods, and “in some cases, it can be a bit worse; organic farms often require more land than conventional farms.” I had always assumed that because organic foods are better for you in terms of nutrition, they were also better for the environment, but now I know that is not the case. This doesn’t mean that I will stop buying organic foods, but it is making me realize that I might need to do some more research on my carbon footprint because some of my other assumptions may be wrong.

Up until the middle of April, I lived off of a vegan plant-based diet, which means I ate no meat, dairy, or eggs (basically no products derived from animals). I stayed with this lifestyle for a whole year, and I loved every second of it. But during the last months of this, I started to notice myself having a lack of energy, concentration, and I was constantly hungry, like nothing I did anything for me. I searched the internet to try to find the cause of my symptoms, and I was sad to find that it was a possible long-term effect of a vegan diet. As time goes by, your body begins to run low on certain vitamins and minerals that are not found in the foods available to a vegan. I now eat occasional chicken and eggs, locally sourced, and still try to avoid dairy when possible. The article states that "The world’s food system is responsible for about one-quarter of the planet-warming greenhouse gases that humans generate each year." This is an important fact that most people, including myself, would never really take into account when thinking about causes of global warming. I knew that meat industries and the abuse of livestock was a problem regarding the wellness of the animals and circle of life, but I never took into account what other things it could be impacting. It is important to be aware of what you are eating, and think about what your food went through before reaching your plate.

I would like to think I have a low carbon footprint, at least when it comes to food, although none of the foods on the quiz were very similar to what I eat on a daily basis. A few months ago though, I limited myself to red meat only once a week, and I've been working on cutting out dairy for my own health- I'm lactose intolerant. It's very important to my family to eat ethically and low consequence, so we try to buy from local farmers with business practices that are good for the earth. If I wasn't already aware of the consequences of my food, and found out, I definitely would be switching to a more climate friendly diet. However, there are infinite reasons people may not be able to or want to change their diets, and it's not fair to put all the responsibility on the average person. Companies and farms that provide us with food really need to do their part to farm more climate friendly- which is totally possible! In an NPR series a while back, they imagined a world where we are stopping climate change, and changing agriculture was a huge part. On a farm in Columbia, they showed how easy it is to feed your cows without cutting down the forest. All it took was a bit more attention from farmers, and a more nutritious species of feed grass. The farmer was able to feed 6 cows on the land it would take most to feed 1 cow. This just shows that not only do we need to push ourselves to be more caring to the earth, it is essential to push those that can make the biggest difference.

Do you consider yourself an environmentalist? You might recycle, you might carpool, and you might avoid being wasteful. By doing so, you can reduce our consumption of raw materials, and reduce carbon and methane emissions. What many people do not realize, however, is how significantly diet impacts the environment. If you have taken biology, you might remember the trophic pyramid. Plants, at the bottom have the 100% of the energy. When herbivores eat plants, however, they are only able to recover 10% of the initial energy. When animals eat herbivores, they are only able to recover 1% of the initial energy of the plants. For each level, 90% of the energy is lost. It is for this reason that eating plants is more energy-efficient. Eating plants over herbivores such as cows is more efficient by a factor of 10. Livestock consume corn or soy in order to grow and provide meat, eggs, or milk. However, by skipping the meat and eating the corn directly, we can make our diets much more sustainable. Of course, it is not realistic for everyone to suddenly become a vegan. According to a 2014 study published in the journal Nature, if people limited, not wholly eliminated, animal products from their diets, while also eating more fruits and vegetables, we could see a 29% decrease in agricultural CO2 emissions, not to mention a decrease in methane emissions, energy, and water use. So next meal, you can help the environment simply by skipping the meat.

I have been vegetarian for about 3 years now after I watched a documentary called Cowspiracy in middle school. I was a huge meat lover before, but after seeing the impact of the meat industry on the environment I became a vegan immediately. The initial transition was a difficult because I had not researched anything prior, but it turned out easier than I had anticipated. I am happy with my decision, but to be honest, I don’t really think my actions have had much impact and I don’t think people are going to give up meat anytime soon. It sounds nice when we say things like “let's go meatless on Mondays”, but in reality, this doesn’t do much of anything. The only way I can see real change occurring is if the government takes action. Some scientist believes that Earth could reach maximum capacity in just 30 years. We can not afford to feed the planet on meat; we don’t have the land. If we converted to mostly plant-based diets and take action to reduce overpopulation we could avert the approaching disaster. I don’t think I am a good person or morally superior to others for not eating meat. At least not since Middle School. My real reason is that I don’t want to be thought of as a hypocrite by other environmentalists or seen as complicit in the devastation of our planet. The truth is I have done very little for the Earth and I am not really any better than the average person. I waste and indulge why others scrounge and starve putting in no effort to make real change.

As a 15 year old who’s been vegan for a while, I don’t expect a bunch of people to go vegan for climate change nor will I push them towards it. All I will push is one day a week where you eat plant-based, just one day can make a huge difference. You can even cut out just beef for all I care. I cut out red meat when I was 13, my dad was a fisherman and I loved sushi! How could I possible stop eating fish? I knew nothing about how my eating choices affected the planet. I spent a year as a pescitarian until I started watching health documentaries. The movie “What the Health” changed my life. The movie showed the effects of the meat and dairy industry on the environment as well as the animal cruelty and bad living conditions for humans living near slaughter houses and dairy farms. One of these pig slaughter houses ended up being on the highway I drive on every year to visit my grandparents. If you’ve ever drove on the main highways in North Carolina you know the stench that filters into your car when you drive past a huge fenced portion of land. People have to live around there. They end up getting asthma, lung cancer, and many other medical conditions just by being around those horrible conditions. So if you can’t cut out a small portion of dairy/meat for the environment, do it for people. If your worried about your health on a low meat and dairy diet research instead of just giving up. It's vital to the earth that we change our ways, even if just a little bit.

Although I am very supportive of reducing my own carbon footprint, changing my diet to limit milk and red meat is not realistic. As a teenager, I am still growing and need the vitamins found in dairy and meat products, and taking these nutrients away could be detrimental to my and others my age’s lives. I have grown up with a calcium deficiency, and this has caused me to break eight bones in the span of five years. As stated in the article, “Meat and dairy, particularly from cows, have an outsize impact, with livestock accounting for around 14.5 percent of the world’s greenhouse gases each year.” Removing dairy products from my diet could weaken my bones, and would increase the chance of them breaking. I understand that specific foods can be just as detrimental to the environment as cars, planes, and other means of transportation. While some people are able to cut milk and red meat out of their diets, I am not one of those people. Although I am unable to reduce my carbon footprint by changing my diet, I am definitely able to decrease my carbon footprint by limiting my use of cars, and walking and riding a bike more frequently.

My results of the quiz were that I had a low impact, meaning that I eat a mostly plant-based diet, which is correct! I started being a vegetarian around the end of the summer last year- though it wasn't because I was particularly knowledgeable about the impact of meat on the environment. I was more inspired by all people around me that made a change in their life, a sacrifice to make the world a better place…even though I didn’t know exactly how. After the decision, I learned in my APES class that meat actually does increase your carbon footprint; like the article said, “when forests are cleared to make room for farms and livestock — this happens on a daily basis in some parts of the world — large stores of carbon are released into the atmosphere.” After being vegetarian, I realized it actually wasn’t that hard. Sure, I missed burgers and burritos with chicken instead of tofu, but after a while, you forget what you’re missing and can just focus on being healthier and more environmentally conscious. To anybody that might want to make a change, I would suggest taking it slow and transitioning into a life without meat. In fact, like the article said, you don’t even have to give it all up, just eating less, especially beef, lamb and cheese that leave the highest carbon footprint.

I think that the thing I found most surprising about the whole “carbon footprint” thing was that cows have a huge carbon footprint. I thought that it was weird that something so mainstream and so well used was taking a lot of our resources. The article was talking about how “meat and dairy, particularly from cows, have an outsize impact, with livestock accounting for around 14.5 percent of the world’s greenhouse gases each year.” I am lactose intolerant, so I don’t eat that much dairy anyway. I do LOVE hamburgers, so I could probably help out the Earth by cutting back on the amount of beef I eat. I can do this by just eating chicken more. I think that it is important for us as a society to keep in mind our carbon footprints and try to cut back on the amount of stuff we use because we already treat our Earth badly, and I feel that if we could all cut back, it would have a great impact and could save all of us from really harming our Earth.

No mention of the environmental harm done by farming the soybeans so beloved of vegans; the benefits to the environment of eating locally, which in most parts of the US does NOT include tofu and almond milk; the environmental cost of transporting all the tofu and almond milk in big trucks, etc,etc. Especially annoying in conjunction with a front-pages story telling everyone to give up their gas stoves in favor of electric or even-more-expensive induction. How many families can afford to switch out their major appliances on a whim or dramatically change their diets because of some new fad? In an era when so many people do not cook at all, and rely on take-out food delivered by gas-guzzling SUVs!