Eating for your health and that of the planet may not always align. Consider these top eco-friendly, sustainable diets to improve your health while also preserving the planet for future generations. You are what you eat, so choose wisely.
The Environmental Protection Agency defines sustainability as a condition where humans and nature exist in a productive balance, which boils down to not damaging the environment with your activities. However, how the agricultural industry produces food affects the planet’s and your health. Foods like meat and dairy emit harmful greenhouse gases that damage nature, and packaged, processed foods create pollution and cost fuel to transport.
Many diets exist, each with health benefits. But with an increased awareness of how agriculture affects the environment, you may wonder which is best for your body and conscience.
Your food choices affect what agricultural industries produce. Here are better diet options to improve your health and help the planet.
Since vegan diets don’t include any animal products, they help reduce the demand for meat. With less demand, land use could decrease by 76%, and consumers can cut diet-related greenhouse gases by 49%.
A plant-centered diet also reduces your chances of heart disease, ensures better digestion and aids in weight loss. To follow a vegan diet, you’d eat primarily fruits, vegetables, nuts and whole grains.
Vegetarian diets range from purely plant-based to lacto-vegetarian and pescatarian, which may include dairy and fish. Ovo vegetarians eat eggs as their only animal product. Current livestock farming accounts for 32% of human-caused methane, so methane production decreases with less demand for livestock production.
A vegetarian diet is rich in fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants and may reduce the risk of chronic diseases. While a plant-based diet that includes some animal products may not be as eco-friendly or sustainable as pure veganism, the reduced reliance on animal sources helps.
If you like having a meat-free Monday or follow a diet where you select days of the week to eat mostly plant-based, you’re likely flexitarian. As the name suggests, flexitarians have a more flexible diet that lets them consume meat on selected days or when they want. However, this way of eating focuses predominantly on a plant-based core diet.
You can still have your weekly steak but avoid resource-intensive products like processed foods and mass-produced animal products. This helps cut your carbon contribution significantly.
The best way to incorporate flexitarianism for maximum environmental gain is to choose responsibly raised animal products like sustainable beef and fish, not those produced by the factory farming system. Factory farming increases antibiotic resistance in humans and produces significant greenhouse emissions.
The Mediterranean diet consistently ranks number one for the healthiest meal plan, but it’s also one of the most eco-friendly ones on the list. By eating in a Mediterranean style, you focus on low red meat consumption, increased fish intake, and mostly locally sourced fruits and vegetables as well as whole grains, nuts and olive oil.
It’s excellent for heart health and type 2 diabetes and is also easy to maintain because it’s so flexible. To reduce the impact on marine ecosystems, ensure you eat sustainable, locally caught fish.
If you struggle with hypertension and stress, the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet is your friend. This diet is also kind to the environment, as it promotes eating vegetables, lean proteins and whole grains while cutting back on processed foods. While you’ll still have some animal products, the overall consumption is less than others.
The DASH diet helps you manage your blood pressure and improves heart health. When you responsibly source dairy and avoid buying from large-scale producers, you can lower the carbon footprint and water consumption of full-scale dairy production.
The eco-friendly version of the keto diet is a good option for better health, weight management and sustainability. While a traditional keto diet encourages meat and dairy consumption, the more sustainable version swaps animal products for plant-based protein and dairy.
Healthy fats and proteins like avocado, nuts, seeds, tofu, and beans easily replace animal-based proteins and fats. These are also kinder to the environment than livestock farming and meat production.
How you source your food affects its emission profile. Transportation costs and pollution increase if you choose food imported from out of state or overseas. Buying local and supporting organic farmers helps cut the emissions from fertilizers and large-scale farming equipment’s exhaust fumes.
Those with food sensitivities may be familiar with the Whole30 diet, which focuses on a restrictive diet for 30 days, followed by a mindful, gradual reintroduction of foods to determine which triggers allergies or sensitivities. The Whole30 diet opposes eating manufactured foods containing chemicals, which usually cause sensitivities. So, on this diet, you’d eat whole foods that are ethically sourced and organically grown.
Most of your plate includes vegetables, fruits, seeds, nuts and a small quantity of lean organic meat. The lack of demand for processed foods helps the environment by reducing the need for packaging and energy-intensive processes.
What you eat affects the environment. Choosing sustainable foods determines the demand for processed foods like factory-farmed animal and high-intensity plant products, so consider each purchase on your next shopping trip.
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