Eat more plants: Incorporate more fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains into your diet. These foods typically require fewer resources and produce fewer emissions than animal products.
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How can your diet help fight climate change?
10 October 2024
From plate to planet: Discover how simple food choices can reduce your carbon footprint and contribute to a healthier world.
This Global Climate Change Week (14–18 October), explore how food choices affect the planet. By reducing meat and dairy, opting for local, plant-based foods, and cutting food waste, you can reduce carbon emissions and support a more sustainable future.
It’s Global Climate Change Week (14-18 October), and this year’s theme focuses on the critical connections between food, water, and energy – the essential resources that shape our daily lives and drive climate impact. One of the most significant ways we can contribute to a sustainable future is by rethinking what’s on our plates.
The production, transportation, and waste associated with food are major contributors to global carbon emissions, with meat and dairy among the largest offenders. By reducing meat consumption and choosing more plant-based or sustainably sourced foods, we can make a meaningful difference. In this story, we’ll explore practical tips for adopting a sustainable diet and how students can incorporate these principles into catering for team events.
Understanding the carbon price of food
Food production is a significant contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. From the fertilisers used in agriculture to the transportation of goods and the energy consumed in processing, the food system has a large carbon footprint. In fact, food production accounts for about 26 percent of global emissions, with meat and dairy products being some of the highest emitters due to methane from livestock, deforestation for grazing, and the energy used in animal farming.
Adopting a sustainable diet can help mitigate these impacts. Plant-based foods tend to have a much lower carbon footprint than animal products. For example, the production of vegetables, fruits, legumes, and grains typically results in fewer emissions compared to the production of beef, lamb, and cheese.
The power of a sustainable diet
Changing your diet may seem like a small action, but it has the potential to make a significant difference. According to researchers, a shift towards plant-based eating could reduce an individual’s food-related carbon footprint by up to 50 percent. This doesn’t necessarily mean you need to eliminate all animal products, but reducing meat consumption, choosing sustainably sourced ingredients, and minimising food waste can all contribute to a healthier planet.
Jubail, a student facilitator for the University’s Carbon Literacy Training, shared her perspective: “A sustainable diet isn’t just about eating more plants – it’s about understanding the entire system of food production and consumption. During Carbon Literacy Training, we explore how individual choices add up to broader impacts. It’s empowering to know that the small decisions we make can contribute to big changes in reducing emissions.”
Tips for adopting a sustainable diet
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Reduce meat and dairy: You don’t have to go completely vegan to make an impact. Start with a few meat-free days a week or switch to plant-based alternatives like tofu, lentils, or chickpeas.
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Choose seasonal and local foods: Food grown locally and in season requires less transportation and often fewer resources, which translates to a lower carbon footprint.
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Minimise food waste: Plan your meals, store leftovers, and compost food scraps to reduce the amount of food waste going to landfills, where it produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
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Support sustainable agriculture: Look for certifications like organic, fair trade, and Rainforest Alliance when shopping, as these often signal more sustainable farming practices.
Plant-based burgers can be just as tasty as their meat counterparts. Photo: Ben Pinney
Where to find sustainable food on campus
If you’re looking to try more sustainable food options on campus, here are some of our favourite spots to explore:
Love Buds Grill: Located at the PNR Building, Love Buds Grill offers a delicious range of plant-based burgers that taste so good you won’t believe it’s not meat.
Oakberry: Located in Manning House, Oakberry Açaí bowls and smoothies are a healthy way to fuel body and brain, that are vegan, organic, natural, gluten free and kosher.
Vegan/Veg/Sustainable Places close to campus: use a google maps filter to search for nearby options.
Take action: become carbon literate
In addition to making sustainable choices, we invite you to join the University’s Carbon Literacy Training to further explore how you can reduce your carbon footprint through food.