A Diet for a Happier Planet: 8 Ways Your Food Choices Can Make a Difference

The choices you make at every meal have a ripple effect that extends far beyond your own health. A sustainable diet is also a diet for a happier planet. Here are eight ways your eating habits can contribute to a healthier environment.

1. Eat More Plants. Shifting towards more plant-based proteins like lentils and beans is the single most impactful dietary change you can make to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, water usage, and land degradation.
2. Eat Local. Buying food from local farmers reduces “food miles,” the carbon footprint associated with transporting food over long distances. It also supports your local economy and green spaces.
3. Eat Seasonally. When you eat with the seasons, you’re eating food that can be grown without energy-intensive greenhouses or long-term cold storage.
4. Eliminate Food Waste. When food rots in a landfill, it produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas. By using leftovers creatively, you’re directly fighting climate change.
5. Choose Whole Foods. The industrial processing, packaging, and transportation of convenience foods require a huge amount of energy. A diet based on whole foods is inherently lower-impact.
6. Ditch Single-Use Plastics. A sustainable diet encourages cooking at home and using whole ingredients, naturally reducing your reliance on plastic-wrapped ready meals and snack foods.
7. Drink Tap Water. Choosing tap water over bottled water (even if you filter it at home) drastically reduces plastic waste and the energy used to produce and transport bottles.
8. Practice Mindful Portions. By consuming only what you need, you reduce the overall demand on the global food system, which is a major driver of environmental strain.