climate diet

This word dates back to a book with the title The Climate Diet: How You Can Cut Carbon, Cut Costs, and Save the Planet, written by Johnathan Henry Harrington and published in 2008. So the idea has been around for over a decade but it seems to have gained currency in the last six months or so.

 As part of our attempts to meet our carbon reduction commitments we need to look at food production and land management.  By aiming towards less meat and dairy and more sustainable crops we will be doing the planet a favour, since cattle are a major source of methane in the atmosphere and deforestation on the ground.  It turns out that we will also be improving our health.  Less obesity, less diabetes, less heart attacks.  If we can’t cut meat out of diets entirely, then wild animals like kangaroos and rabbits might be a better source.  Vegans can argue that they are leading the way to the diet we all should have.