It’s April 1st, so you know what that means...it’s also Earth Day Month 🌎We’re going even harder on all things sustainable + climate-friendly, and we hope you’re ready for a low-carbon diet all month!
So why no TB (but actually they’re ok, check out all the vegan options they have here!)? Because “global climate change is arguably the most urgent environmental problem faced today,” and the animal products we’re consuming are a leading contributor to it. Now I know you’re probably asking what Taco Bell has to do fashion, but bear with me for just sec:)
A major goal of ASOME is to challenge everyone (self-included) to make more sustainable choices -- for what we put on our body and what we put in it. And if we all start to make small, conscious, low-carbon choices every day (and make sure our lawmakers act accordingly, too) well, we just might not be doomed after all!
For clothing, we know some of the things to do. Shop second-hand, shop sustainable and ethical clothing companies and keep an eye on how much we’re purchasing in general.
But what about food? The Sierra Club says “the world's food system contributes up to 30% of all greenhouse gases. And American diets currently receive an F on the Healthy Eating Index.” So no place but up for us, right?!
Almost.
“The most recent US Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee claimed that shifts toward more plant-based foods could promote health as well as long-term environmental sustainability of the nation's food supply," and "the most climate-friendly diets eat fewer animal products, which are main drivers of carbon emissions and drive down health scores.”
For me, it was a PETA group outside of a Backstreet Boys concert about 14 years ago that sealed the deal for a meat-free life. My sister and I had talked about becoming vegetarian for a while, and those pamphlets they had, well, they worked.
So, we decided then and there we were doing it and never looked back because we could not stand the thought of what was happening to animals just because we wanted a Big Mac. So after a while of eating cards + cheese only, I decided I should do some more research/get healthier. I started to spend much more time in the vegan lane after learning more about the positive environmental impacts (in addition to it being the best way to help animals).
You don’t have to become a vegetarian/85%-of-the-time vegan like me (cheese pizza is my weakness), but maybe cut back a bit on the animal products. Start small, and then if you like it and want to do more, do it -- there’s so much help out there and new awesome options to help make it a full lifestyle change.
Point being, “food production is one of the largest contributors to climate change,” and we can all make small shifts in what we consume to help change this♻
*All citations and statistics, unless otherwise noted, are from: The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition