by Lauren Hodges and Sunshima Team
This year’s National Vegetarian Week (16th – 22nd May 2022) is highlighting that eating vegetarian meals is one of the simplest ways to combat the climate crisis which adversely affects wildlife and in doing so, help the planet. In fact, the National Food Strategy Report says that a 30% reduction of meat consumption over 10 years can be achieved by having just two meat-free days a week.
And did you know that not only is eating less meat good for the planet but an Oxford Study found that in developed countries vegan and vegetarian diets were cheaper, cutting food costs by up to a third. Lets’ look further at how eating a more plant-based diet is good for the environment, your health, and your money.
Less Environmental Impact
We should all by now be aware that the world is in a climate crisis, which can no longer be ignored. The meat industry is among the leading causes of environmental damage due to factory farming. Intensive livestock farming puts out an extremely high level of greenhouse gases, especially methane, and requires the consumption of water and fossil fuels at a rate which seems excessive compared to other non-meat food production methods. All of these factors play a direct role in global warming, air pollution and deforestation.
Aquafarming and commercial fishing can also have terrible effects on the environment and are the cause of a large amount of the pollution of our oceans. Many of the fish raised in aquafarms are predators, so they naturally eat smaller fish, causing billions of wild fish to be caught to feed the farmed fish. This means that aquafarming not only generates large amounts of waste but also creates more industrial fishing. The United Nations FAO reported that overfishing has reduced the percentage of fish stocks that are sustainable from 90% in 1990 to 66% in 2017 and called for global action to ensure that sustainable fishing policies are adopted around the world.
Cutting down on meat and fish lessens our impact on the environment and wildlife. These recipes show the CO2 emissions saved with plant based recipes compared to the meat-based alternative.
Heathier
Eating less meat is healthier. Today’s easy access to cheap, intensively farmed meat (including beefburgers) has introduced a level of fat consumption to our diets that is far higher than our bodies need, leading to a variety of physical ailments including;
- Obesity
- Heart disease
- High cholesterol
- High blood pressure
- Cancer
- Stroke
- Heart failure
If we swap meat in recipes with meat free alternatives a few days a week, it will help decrease the amount of meat we eat every day. We will feel better and reduce our risk of these ailments, living longer, healthier, happier lives!
Cheaper
As already mentioned, the study by Oxford University found that in high income countries, vegan diets were the cheapest cutting food bills by one third, followed closely by vegetarian diets and flexitarian diets, with low amounts of meat and dairy, reducing costs by 14%. This study which was based on whole foods and not processed meat replacements shows that a diet with more fruit, vegetables, beans, pulses, legumes, and wholegrains is cheaper.
These plant based recipes by Jack Monroe (the anti-poverty campaigner) prove this point by not only being tasty but also very budget friendly.
And of course let’s not forget that a big reason why many people also choose the vegetarian route is because they feel that animals should not suffer so that they can eat meat.
So, as you can see there are many good reasons why you should choose the vegetarian option, and what a better time to give it a try than National Vegetarian Week. Even if it is only for a couple of nights a week, it can really have an impact on the environment, your health, and your wallet!