Eat Well, Save The Planet

How to shop, cook and eat in a warming world

- Julia Moskin, Brad Plumer, Rebecca Lieberman and Eden Weingart

Does what I eat really have an effect on climate change?

Yes. The world’s food system is responsible for about one-quarter of the planet-warming greenhouse gases that humans generate each year. That includes raising and harvesting all the plants, animals and animal products we eat—beef, chicken, fish, milk, lentils, kale, corn and more—as well as processing, packaging and shipping food to markets all over the world.

How exactly does food contribute to global warming?

Four of the biggest ways: When forests are cleared to make room for farms and livestock, large stores of carbon are released into the atmosphere, which heats up the planet. When cows, sheep and goats digest their food, they burp up methane, another potent greenhouse gas. Animal manure and rice paddies are also big methane sources. Finally, fossil fuels are used to operate farm machinery, make fertiliser and ship food around the globe, all of which generate emissions.

Which foods have the largest impact?

Meat and dairy, particularly from cows, have an outsized impact, with livestock accounting for around 14.5 per cent of the world’s greenhouse gases each year. That’s roughly the same amount as the emissions from all the cars, trucks, airplanes and ships combined in the world today.