Eat less meat and dairy | Reduce Green House Gas emissions
What's the deal with burpy cows?
There's lots in the news about cows' methane burps, and the comparison of Green House Gas emissions with those of cars and planes. The inefficient use of land to raise livestock is another biggie, as well as the cutting down of forests that absorb CO2.
Meat reduction is a tricky topic because beef is the biggest type of fresh meat purchased in the UK, so protein plays a big role in supporting our economy. However, continued demand for meat means its production is rising and negating our ability to reduce Green House Gas emissions and achieve net zero.
Beef is particularly problematic because it requires 20* times more land to produce than plant-based protein, and it gives out 20 times more Green House Gas emissions per gram in the process.
One step we can take on the journey to net zero is to reduce the amount of meat and dairy that we eat, and across Britain we’ve seen more people responding by adopting vegan and plant-based diets. Bristol, with its reputation for producing, selling and serving quality plant-based food, is a great place to try out meat-free or reduced meat meals.
If you’d like to try and reduce your meat and dairy intake, but aren’t quite sure how or where to start, here are some ideas to get you going:
- Challenge yourself to Meat free Monday - meatfreemondays.com
- Try a vegan recipe or two - here's a great app
- Go on a vegan/vegetarian cookery course
- Buy local, organic plant-based food
- Join the growing number of people enjoying a vegetarian or vegan diet