How your food choices affect the planet

ZOE Science & Nutrition

Can a Sustainable Diet Be Affordable?

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Scientist says there are three things you can do to reduce your impact on climate change. Reducing food waste is a bit of a no brain for everybody, in terms of reducing cost as well as climate impact. Individuals can make a difference, but actually we know we need some sort of systemic change.

Our planet is overheating. Human society is creating too much carbon dioxide, stopping the sun’s warmth from escaping back into space. As earth gets hotter, its ice caps are melting, causing sea levels to rise, and submerging entire communities. Floods, droughts, and wildfires are already becoming much more common.

Some effects of climate change are now irreversible, but there is still hope, and adjusting what we eat might play a bigger part than you’d imagine.

In this episode, Jonathan speaks with a pioneer in science who will help you understand how your eating habits affect the planet, so you can make informed decisions about the foods you eat and how you prepare them.

Sarah Bridle is a professor of food climate and society at the University of York in the United Kingdom. She is on the vanguard of a new field, and her research carefully measures the exact effects of the foods we eat on climate change.

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Timecodes:

00:00 - Intro

00:10 - Topic introduction

01:34 - Quickfire questions

03:14 - Why does climate change matter?

05:40 - Why does food matter for reducing climate change?

07:44 - Understanding how different foods affect the climate

11:32 - Do I have to go vegan to help stop climate change?

13:14 - Are all meats equal in terms of their climate impact?

16:20 - How do by-products of animals impact climate?

17:22 - Carbon footprint of milk alternatives

19:51 - Is a baked potato good for the planet?

21:42 - Other things that impact climate change to consider

23:33 - Food miles vs air miles?