Sustainable food
Make every mealtime count
Changing our diet is perhaps the single biggest way we can reduce our impact on the environment.
In the UK, agriculture is responsible for 10% of greenhouse gas emissions, 83% of ammonia air pollution and 16% of water pollution. More intensive forms of farming are the leading cause of harm to UK farmland wildlife.
Waste less food
Nearly seven million tonnes of food is wasted by UK households every year. Follow simple tips such as planning your meals ahead. Of course some waste (like banana peels) is unavoidable but this can be put in your food waste bin and turned into clean energy.
Composting is also a great way to to transform food and garden waste into nutrient rich food for your garden.
Eat seasonally
Goods that are transported around the world by sea account for 33% of all trade-related emissions from fossil fuel combustion, so buying locally and eating seasonally could make a big difference.
Grow your own
If you have a garden you could cut your food miles to zero by growing your own fruit, vegetables and herbs.
Eat less meat, more plants
Globally, livestock production is responsible for 14.5% of greenhouse gas emissions and animal agriculture is also a major driver behind the deforestation of the Amazon, ocean dead zones and wildlife loss. Reducing meat consumption can improve your health, the environment and save you money.
Let's stop meating like this is a free, ten-part, weekly email series that helps readers to adopt a more healthy, balanced and sustainable diet - with a little less meat and a lot more nutritious plant-based ingredients. Each email contains tips, information about ingredients, delicious recipe ideas and more.
Meat free Mondays
Regularly avoiding meat, even for just one day a week, will not only help the planet but also add variety to your diet and give you the chance to try some delicious new recipes.
Reduce beef
Beef has the highest environmental impact - using 28 times more land and 11 times more water than for pork or chicken resulting in five times more climate-warming emissions. Giving up beef alone could reduce your carbon footprint more than giving up your car.
Go flexitarian
More and more people are adopting a flexitarian diet – eating mostly vegetarian meals but allowing for the occasional meat dish. Researchers believe such a diet could feed 10 billion people.
Vegetarian, pescetarian and vegan
Diets that avoid meat (vegetarian), meats other than fish (pescetarian) or all animal products (vegan) are on the rise, with many citing the environment as a reason. The NHS says with good planning and an understanding of what makes up a healthy, balanced vegan diet, you can get all the nutrients your body needs.
You can compare the environmental impact of different food choices using the BBC’s handy calculator.
Protect our oceans
Overfishing and bycatch (other marine creatures being caught up in nets) are responsible for declines in ocean wildlife populations. Follow the Marine Conservation Society good fish guide and buy fish that carry the MSC logo.