The Yellow-Brick Road to Plant-Based Possibilities

What, then, can be done?

Here are just a few simple suggestions:

1

Think Reusable

Globally, humans power through 1 million plastic bottles each and every minute. Stop now. Not only does a stainless-steel water bottle, an organic cotton tote bag, or reusable travel cup reduce the need for a single-use plastic vessel, but in the long-run you’ll save money as well.

2

Say No to & Minimise Plastic

If what you need to buy can’t be bought without plastic packaging, if zero waste isn’t yet a possibility for you (see our article, “Zero Waste: Where Are We Now?”, p.54), (a) try to buy a product that has recyclable plastic packaging or (b) buy in bulk. If, as the BBC reported back in March, Waitrose & Partners can be inspired by a 10-year old eco-activist and henceforth refuse to sell children’s magazines with disposable plastic toys, you can enact this change.

3

Get Political

Sign petitions, write to your local representatives, and support those candidates who demonstrate commitment to implementing environmentally beneficial principles.

The Yellow-Brick Road to Plant-Based Possibilities

he term “living mindfully” is thrown around a lot. Nonetheless, at a time when to start with all of us experienced what it means to have no control over a situation (i.e. the pandemic), to exert control, to exhibit what little power we do have in enacting change for the good of the planet seems a painfully obvious action or call to action. And food activism, conscious consumption, is as simple as it gets when it comes to helping Earth and all its creatures. To lay down one’s fork, say no to the bacon (and who else gets queasy at the thought, as The Guardian reported back in 2019, that those pigs’ organs will be able to be successfully transplanted into humans by next year?), is a small gesture, but the more people who do it, then the further afield the aftereffects of that ripple motion of repulsion will be felt and endure.

While companies debate over the correct terminology of laudable laboratory-based meat production (Vegconomist reporting that “cellcultured” has become the term for US lab-grown animal flesh), and while the European Union recently invested 2.7 million euros into the Spanish “Meat4All” project, on the more distinctly plant-based end of the spectrum, a new burger from the Netherlands has been made from seaweed. The Dutch Weed Burger (no, not that kind of weed) provides a sustainable alternative protein source, being fast-growing and needing no fertilisers or fresh water. Founded by Mark Kulsom and Lisette Kreischer (author of Man Eat Plant, a guide to vegan food for men, and Dog Eat Plant – do we need explain the latter?), the Dutch Weed Burger contains three different types of seaweed: kombu (for the patty), sea lettuce (for the sauce), and chlorella (for the bun).

Setting aside how the shunning of a steak and opting for seaweed can work wonders for one’s health – and even Mindy Kaling has been persuaded by superstar friend, Natalie Portman, to be a little more of a vegan dab-hand in the kitchen lately – plant-based eating as a form of food activism isn’t just about the climate impact the meal we put before ourselves and our loved ones has; nor is it about weight loss and general wellbeing. It is about provenance in a multitude of ways, as well. Where did the ingredients come from? How were they produced? Who benefitted from and who, if anyone, suffered injustice in progression from farm to plate? In short, what economic and social impact what we eat has in coming to market, so to speak, matters just as much as how that journey affected the environment.

We’ve written on food deserts previously, on those areas where access to stores selling fresh fruit and vegetables is greatly limited. Unfortunately, it is often the people in these food deserts that should especially be living (and thriving) on a plant-based diet. In the US, for instance, much plant-based eating is directly derived from African, Asian, Caribbean, and Indigenous cultures. Essentially, then, veganism is not a white and monied movement of the 21st Century, matured from its early beanburger days to the heady Beyond Meat peaks of today, but another form of food activism, one of decolonisation and one in solidarity with a non-industrial heritage, a heritage both holistic and biodiverse. Such BIPOC communities, when they have settled for consuming the enforced industrially produced western diet, have been shown to exhibit a high rate of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity – all issues exacerbated by animal products. By reclaiming plant-based eating, reclaiming their health, the future of these communities is ameliorated. And that is part of that care and concern for the future of the planet that is ceaselessly discussed these days. We are all creatures of the Earth; we all have unique nutritional needs and our diversity is what only increases the natural wonder given us. Food Navigator has stated in the past that by 2030, three times the amount of land given to urban areas in 2000 would exist – one example of this great detriment to biodiversity has been in Latin America. This has seen a distinct food activist movement on that continent. As Vegconomist reported recently, in 2018 a survey in Chile showed roughly 1.5 million of the population were already electing to abstain from meat on a daily basis: of respondents claimed they would reduce their meat consumption for the good of the environment, in order to offset the damage done by animal agriculture.

Indeed, Chile is leading the way in the vegan stakes, although Mexico has the largest number of vegetarians and vegans combined in Latin America.

However, back at the start of the year, it was reported that Brazil – the largest exporter of beef in the world – was seeing a shift in appetites from heavy red meat consumption to an increased turning to plantbased alternatives, prompted by concern for the state of the Amazon. An amazing event, given “churrascaria is as Brazilian as summer barbecues are American”. According to GlobalData, one third of Brazilians are now purchasing less meat and 14% of all consumers (of which a considerable 62% are interested in plant-based food developments) are buying meat-alternatives for the purposes of reductarianism (and lowering cholesterol).

Nevertheless, globally, the human food system is a major GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emitter and animal agriculture is the main culprit. The United Nations Environment Programme notes that emissions from livestock are far more numerous and detrimental than fruit and vegetable farming and, furthermore, animal agriculture requires a massive quantity of natural resources. Nonetheless, even cutting down to one meat-based meal a week is an effective contribution to lessening consumption of animal products and thereby reducing the ill effects of livestock rearing, as suggested by EAT-Lancet. And the more people who eat predominantly plant-based alternatives, the more affordable such products will become and as a result be made more readily available in less affluent areas – on a worldwide scale.