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Natalie Dias
Dec 16 min read

Sustainable Substitutes for Your Diet


Picture this: you are an American teenager. You hang out with your friends and eat whatever comes your way, because you have no dietary or religious restrictions and don’t have to cook. So when you go to McDonald's, you eat that hamburger, because whatever, right? You might think this situation is unlikely – after all, most teens understand the impact of food on climate change. But often understanding doesn’t translate into action, and we can’t ignore the fact that 73% of the world is omnivorous.


Often this separation between belief and action isolates omnivores from improving the sustainability of their meals. While many people understand that alternate diets like veganism and vegetarianism are statistically beneficial, they might not be able to access or care to change their habits. And it doesn’t help that most “climate-friendly” meals and recipes are tailored to these specific diets alone, which can create a mindset that omnivores cannot make a dent in the emissions produced from their food. While many people dream of a completely vegan world, this reality is currently unrealistic, and it’s important to recognize how great an impact the 73% can have.


One way for omnivores to enact change is by smaller steps – substitutions. Meat is not one thing - different animals have different effects on the environment, and this applies to many other foods. Making conscious decisions, whether or not you are omnivorous, is necessary to reverse climate change. And in truth, substitutions are beneficial for everyone, even those with lower-emission diets, and affect far more than just the environment.


Red Meat

You’ve probably heard it before – cows are the biggest polluters in the nutritional industry. But if you haven’t, here are the facts: cows, sheep and goats are ruminants, meaning they break down bacteria in a special part of their stomach but release large amounts of methane in the process. Methane stays in the atmosphere for less time than carbon dioxide but produces 28 times as much damage. In addition, nitrous oxide, which causes even more pollution, is often used on grass for the animals to graze. Cows also take a long time to mature, leading to more CO2 and methane across their lifetimes. This also makes milk products like cheese and butter heavy in their impacts, not to mention water use, as dairy cows take the equivalent of 190 full-size bathtubs to raise.


For all the time we spend complaining about cows, focus is often diverted from what we can do. Non-ruminants like pigs and poultry, or animals raised on smaller farms, are better options than cows and goats. As for cheese, soft cheeses like feta and ricotta use less milk to make and therefore emit less carbon. Vegan butters are also great substitutes. Overall, buying locally is better to reduce transportation emissions, even if they are minuscule compared to the process of creating the food. Options like beans and tofu are invaluable in efforts to transform a diet, but if you must have meat, consider going for chicken instead of beef.


Chocolate

It’s hard to find someone who hates chocolate, not to mention one who gives it up to help the climate. Surprisingly, chocolate – made from cacao trees – is one of the highest-emission products in the world. The issue with chocolate comes from its growth method. Most of the land used to grow cacao is illegally deforested in West Africa, destroying already existing forests that would have absorbed millions, if not billions, of tons of CO2. Most of the land cut down for the production of chocolate is protected, so most of it is illegally made. Additionally, chocolate as we know it is composed of products like palm oil, cocoa oil, and milk, which also use large amounts of energy to produce.

Dark chocolate is the best to purchase because it doesn’t use as much milk or cocoa oil. If you are dedicated to finding the most sustainable chocolate, brands like Divine and Tony’s Chocoloney are dedicated to sourcing cacao legally and tracking the process.


Rice

Rice is a staple food in more than half of the world, but it has a high cost. Grown in paddies, it uses large amounts of water each season and is the perfect breeding ground for methane-producing bacteria. In fact, rice produces 12% of the world’s methane. Most rice straw and hulls after harvesting are burned, leading to additional CO2 production.

Luckily, rice farming is becoming more progressive as farmers have started repurposing scraps and using less water to grow heartier crops. Consumers can make a dent in the industry by purchasing “climate-friendly” varieties (grown with methods that use less water) or brown rice, which is inherently better because it reduces the amount of rice remnants burned by including the hull in the final product. Brown rice also has more fiber than white rice, and is more filling, meaning that less of it needs to be consumed to have the same benefits. 

 

Fish and Shrimp

Seafood is similar to poultry because it has a lower production cost than beef. However, fish and crustaceans are often grouped into one category, though they are vastly different in terms of sustainability.

Fish are particularly versatile, and certain fish are better to purchase than others. They can either be wild-caught or farmed, but there is long-standing controversy over which is better. One one hand, wild-caught fish can be better because food, space, and reproduction are individually managed up until the point of their capture, reducing the emissions that farmed fish would create. The main pollutants in fish farms are the energy needed to circulate water, regulate temperatures, and excess food waste. Wild-caught farming highlights fishing vessels as the largest polluters.


These two distinct processes are what make fish so versatile, so finding the fish with the best adaptability to each is best for sustainability. For wild-caught fish, European hake, lionfish, and Pacific sablefish caught in Alaska are among the ones with the least environmental disruption. Smaller fish like anchovies, sardines, and herring use less energy to produce but can be harmful in certain overfished locations. Arctic char, Alaskan salmon, and bass are better options for farmed fish.


Shrimp farming typically has a greater impact than the fish industry. Most emissions come from chopping down mangroves, a hearty tree that stores large amounts of carbon, to make shrimp farms. Crayfish (aka crawfish) are much more sustainable because they are grown in ponds, which lowers the need to destroy pollutant-capturing ecosystems. Bivalves – organisms with two shells, like clams and scallops, are reasonable alternates. Just don’t buy oysters from New York, which are overfished.

Nuts

It might be surprising that nuts ended up on the list, especially since they are staples in vegan cuisine. Nuts contain high amounts of protein, vitamin E, and magnesium, which are essential if one is not consuming the nutrients derived from meats. But compared to most products, nuts are still considered high-energy products because they use a lot of water.


The easiest way to make better choices about nuts is to check how much water they need. California-native almonds, cashews, and pistachios top the list, using around six Olympic swimming pools of water to produce just one ton. On the other hand, peanuts (not nuts!), sunflower seeds, macadamia nuts and hazelnuts are far more sustainable. Macadamia nuts are especially versatile since their shells can be composted and repurposed in many ways. Cashews and pine nuts are two to be wary of due to labor concerns, but they have less of an impact than high-water users like almonds.


Besides a handful of nuts that should be eaten in moderation, most nuts are relatively sustainable and have great nutritional benefits. However, choosing a nut that uses less water to grow is the best way to be sustainable.


Veganism is still the best option for the climate, but substitutions are great ways to make your weekly meals more sustainable and take a part in reducing emissions even if you aren’t vegetarian or vegan. Many people find balance in a weekly “vegan day,” and vegan products are for anyone! Additionally, sustainable foods are conveniently aligned with healthier foods – dark chocolate is healthier than milk chocolate, after all! Switching out one or two things can create an enormous impact when added up – both for the health of you and the environment. Most importantly, being an omnivore shouldn’t discount you from the ability to change. If you are that teen at McDonald's…well, I recommend the hashbrowns.


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