How Your Post-Thanksgiving Diet Could Help Save the Planet

As you tuck into your Thanksgiving dinner, the kick-off event (at least for Americans) of the holiday season, spare a thought for the planet’s carbon waistline. Food production is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for more than a third of emissions worldwide — and a new study has given fresh insight into how small changes in the diet can have a big impact on food-related emissions. And even if it doesn’t inspire you to forgo the turkey and trimmings, it serves as a good reminder that a post-holiday pause on overindulgence might be just the kind of thanks Mother Earth might appreciate most, not to mention your own body’s health. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Research published in the scientific journal PLOS One found that diets limiting meat, dairy and processed food were not only good for health, but for the planet as well. Previous studies only looked at broad food groups, but this one assessed the greenhouse gas emissions of 3,233 different foods consumed by a cohort of 212 adult volunteers in the U.K. over three 24-hour periods. The report found that people whose intake of saturated fats, carbohydrates, and sodium met levels recommended by the World Health Organization had lower greenhouse gas emissions than people who exceeded recommended levels of those nutrients. Meat, unsurprisingly, was the biggest health and climate culprit. Meat eaters’ diets clocked 59% higher emissions compared to vegetarians, and m...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized climate change Climate Is Everything embargoed study healthscienceclimate Londontime overnight Source Type: news