Is Your Plant-Based Diet Really Changing the World?

Written by: Sophia Pasquale Designed by: MC Hopper Photographed by Hui-En Lin

During my junior year of highschool, after watching Food Inc. in AP Environmental Science, I set off to become a vegetarian. Released in 2008, Food Inc. depicts the horrifying aspects and sad truth of what America’s food system is like. Many, like myself, were easily swayed by this unsettling message and took the only step they know: becoming vegan or vegetarian. Our society is easily moved by films depicting unknown and scary imagery, similar to Food Inc., and there is an immediate response of a band-aid solution rather than further research. I completely fell into this category. My response to the film was trying to find an “easy” and fast solution because I was so immediately shocked and had this sense of guilt. Not until after did I realize that the solution that I may have thought to be easiest was actually not necessarily the most effective nor that easy at all. This film showed me the impacts of my personal food consumption on the environment and honestly scared me into trying to help the only way that I knew how.

With fear and guilt from the film, I tried cutting out all meat products, though I failed terribly. For only one week I survived and I was miserable the entire time. I found that I was always hungry and ended up just carb-loading, which was not a sustainable diet for my lifestyle. I am sure that if I hadn’t jumped into vegetarianism so quickly I probably could have found better supplements for meat, but at the time I was not well-prepared. After a miserable week, I could not resist the chicken nuggets in the dining hall. Still feeling guilty and unsure of what to do, I began to research other options. Food Inc. opened the door for a greater awareness of my food consumption and after my failed vegetarian attempt, I was forced to consider other ways I could reduce my food carbon footprint.

I came to my AP Environmental Science teacher in defeat. She was a vegetarian at the time and I was honestly embarrassed to go to her because she made her experience look so easy. I was pleasantly surprised when I met with her; she comforted me and told me that there is not one direct path to fixing our food consumption problem. Luckily, she was able to point me in a direction that made more sense for my lifestyle and needs. After extensive research, I learned that fixing our food consumption problem is all about balance. If everyone were a vegan, vegetarian, or a carnivore, it would create new issues of sustainability. I went back to my teacher with this newfound knowledge and she agreed with me.

We broke down my school population as an example; with 415 students, if everyone ate pure meat diets, our carbon emissions would be incredibly high, while if everyone were to be plant-based, we would have an issue with supply and demand. The supply and demand would be skewed because there would be an oversupply of meat, but a limited amount of fruits and vegetables and the demand would lie with the plants, but the supplier would not be able to keep up with production. This is where the importance of balance and a diversity of diet comes in. Now take this analogy to a full scale environment, like the United States, there would be more harm than good done if society were all to follow a singular diet. In terms of a continued balance in production and economy, there needs to be a variety of diets in our population.

Society does not completely understand the variety of diets and what each diet really consists of; There needs to be a greater involvement of education and research before making important decisions surrounding diet choices and lifestyles. The increased popularity of plant-based diets such as vegetarianism and veganism promotes a very interesting future for our environment. Some scientists suggest that if everyone were to adopt a plant-based diet it would not necessarily have a lower impact on the environment. Increased food shortages would occur because a higher amount of plant-based food would need to be consumed to replace calories and protein found in animal products. However, if everyone were to eat meat-heavy diets, carbon emissions would increase to concerningly high levels. The argument is also not just between carnivores and vegetarians; there is paleo, veganism, raw food diet, mediterranean diet, and many others that are not always considered. Our planet is built on a more complex system than just one specific diet; there needs to be diversity, but again that comes with a better understanding on how each person can make a positive impact on the environment in a way that is most convenient to their lifestyle.

Ultimately, a plant-based diet could help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save water and land usage, and help tackle deforestation, but leads to possible shortages in supply and land. On the other hand, meat diets require less food consumption and are more cost effective, though meat produces high amounts of greenhouse gas. Balance of the two diets and many others is the most suitable option.

Food systems are far more complex than just cutting out one type of food or forcing every person to eat the same. Sustainable food systems are made up of diverse food groups and diets. In the short run, plant-based diets have a smaller carbon footprint, though they require a significantly higher volume of food. If everyone were to eat similar diets, the system would be overrun, the quality of produce would diminish, and carbon emissions would rise because of the mass production.

As Food Inc. points out, there is a serious issue with the food production and consumption in the United States, but it is important to remember that the solution is not so black and white. There are many factors to consider when making an adjustment to our diets: the economy, supply and demand, production possibility, carbon emissions, and personal lifestyles. The solution involves research and self-reflection on your personal needs and goals in order to make the most valuable impact on the future of the planet. It is okay to be scared and concerned, but it is important to take those emotions and channel them into educated action, not necessarily immediate action. The steps of protecting our planet starts with knowledge; we need to have a clear understanding of food production and have a wide variety in diets. With the diversity in diets comes a better future for our environment.

Here are some recommendations for ways you can adjust your food impact that does not change your diet: Find foods that are grown or produced closer to your home. The closer to your home, the less emissions produced to bring that food to you.

Try to purchase organic or locally grown and sourced foods. This means foods that are in season and do not use pesticides, hormones, or antibiotics. They are grown with healthy soil, vitamins, and minerals that are overall better for your personal health.

Try to limit your food waste. Only cook what you plan to eat or save/reuse your leftovers. This is a super easy way to ensure that you are benefiting the environment and not negatively affecting the supply and demand chain.

Plan your meals ahead of time. By planning your meals, you are more likely to have variety in what you consume to support a diversity in diet and you can make sure you are not over-consuming a certain category of food, such as red meat.