There are a few aspects of my life that contribute to my carbon footprint for which I am reluctant to compromise or change. My food choices would have to be the main part of my life that is "off the table" when it comes limiting my carbon emissions. I know that having a vegan or even a vegetarian diet would be best for the planet, and my own health, but I just cannot see this happening in my life. I've seen videos and read articles and books (like "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan), all encouraging me to give up meat and assume a "whole foods, whole plants" diet. Not only will doing this improve my own health, but it will lower my overall carbon foot print. Additionally, manufacturing meat decreases the quality of our environment; it has been known to cause pollution from fossil fuel usage, and it requires a great deal of water, animals (obviously), and land. After all of this knowledge, I am still hesitant to give up meat in my diet. Maybe its because I cannot resist a delicious filet mignon or package of tasty fried chicken. Mainly, I think the reason that I c annot give up meat in my diet is because it would inconvenience my family and myself. Meat is an easy and well-known protein and we find it hard to come up with a solid variety of good recipes that have substitute proteins. On another branch of the food topic, I find it difficult to maintain an all-organic, locally grown foods diet. Again, this is because it is inconvenient (too expensive or too hard to find). While eating a fully organic, locally-grown, and vegan diet is currently "off the table" for me, I can make a few minor adjustments to my diet that will improve my overall carbon footprint.

Hi Carina B! I totally agree with you and i feel the same way i would love to give a vegan lifestyle a try but it is just to hard for me at the moment. Where i live in Iceland meat is one of the main things we eat alongside fish. We don't grow a lot of vegetables and locally grown fully organic food is most often very expensive!

I believe becoming vegan could be good in the long run but the food packaging would have to be new and massed produced witch if not careful could be a bigger problem then the food its self

true tyquay & Carina that a vegan diet doesn't always mean a healthy and sustainable diet.  I've been mostly vegan for about 10 years now, and it does take some thought and planning, but it has taught me a lot about cooking, and coming up with creating ways to make things taste delicious.

I'd recommend starting by not "giving up" all of your favorite foods at once, but instead replacing ordinary meat meals with vegetarian ones once a week or more.  You can use the footprint calculator to figure out just how much carbon that will save over a year!

I totally agree with you Carina on the difficulties that becoming vegan proposes. It is difficult to find quality vegan food where we live and the effort to put into making vegan food at home takes up a lot of one's time. Especially with a family that is used to eating meat so often, my parents would have to spend more money on one person to make a separate vegan meal. Even going on an all wheat diet had changed the way I felt in just two days. With reoccurring stomach Aches my doctor said it was best to go without wheat for a while. I felt a loss of energy in my day to day activities as it was hard to eat food that did not contain wheat. I feel that in some way this would be the same transition I would have to going vegan. It would definitely take some time to get used to and implementing into your life slowly is probably the best way to go. However, I like your thinking on changing your diet a little to help reduce your carbon footprint by making  the necessary adjustments.

i agree with you Carina. Food was one of the top two things that were "off the table" when it came to my carbon emissions, and i admit i'm not surprised. i also agree that i won't be changing my ways anytime soon. It is true that there are much more benefits to being vegan, but even if i chose to be vegan, it would be impossible to eat normally with my family since they believe meat is a vital part of any meal. However, i learned that meat emits more carbon than other foods and i want to try suggesting to my family to buy less unecessary meats. Our diet is probably one of the areas of our lives that is the hardest to change. Our diet and the foods we eat are part of our natural needs. I think we should focus on other areas of our lives to help change the environment.

I think you made some excellent points, Carina.  I have been constantly told that a plant based diet will minimize your carbon footprint and be beneficial to the planet as well as to your own body.  I find myself hesitant to change my diet to a vegan or vegetarian style because I have been diagnosed with anemia for a few years now.  Anemia is a condition where there is a deficiency of red blood cells.  Due to the lack of red blood cells, my doctor told me that I have to eat more red meat to allow my body to absorb more iron easily.  If I were to change my diet to a plant based diet, it would change the amount of energy I would have each day.  Aside from my health conditions, I still would be reluctant to change my diet because I am a picky eater and have a very limited diet.  Becoming either vegetarian or vegan would further limit my options and may become a challenge I would face daily.  In addition, I think your claim about inconvenience to have a different diet  than the rest of your family does make things harder.  Personally, I would not go out of my way to have my family make me an alternative meal due to a diet choice that I have the ability of changing.

Despite being a vegetarian myself, I completely understand that it is a major commitment and not always an option for some people. However, I agree with both Carina and Sophia in that small changes in one's diet can make a large difference in one's personal health and environmental impact. The change in environmental impact could especially be reduced if everyone joined together to make small changes in their diets. For example, if all U.S. citizens left meat and cheese out of their diets for just one day a week for a year, the result on carbon footprint levels would be the same as taking 7.6 million cars of the road, according to this article: http://www.ewg.org/meateatersguide/a-me … footprint/ . Therefore, I respect your idea of making small changes in your diet and encourage you to cut back on meat in small steps.

Hi Carina! I've been on a red-meat free diet for 3 months now, the first month being completely meat-free. Due to health reasons, I couldn't continue (reaffirming Jason Hodin’s point that a vegan/vegetarian lifestyle is only healthy when planned correctly), but I am glad to be able to remain red-meat free. If you asked me a year ago to become vegetarian, I would've laughed; my family isn't vegetarian and I've eaten meat my entire life. It is occasionally a hassle to have to prepare separate meals, but I love cooking and have found that yummy, quick, and environmentally-friendly meals are abundant. There is a whole community of people passionate about the fair treatment of animals and the environment; my school even has a vegan club.
I know firsthand it is incredibly difficult to make such a dramatic diet change immediately, so I suggest taking it a meal or day at a time. When I first decided to give vegetarianism a chance, I said I would only do it for a week—it became a month, and now it’s made a permanent impact on my lifestyle. Even swapping out a meal or two can mak e a tremendous difference. According to gracelinks.org it takes 2,000 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef, or around a three-hour-shower, using wsscwater.com’s conversion charts. Comparing that to the 468 gallons it takes to make a pound of chicken, it’s pretty insane.
Finally, you do not have to be a vegan or vegetarian to eat eco-friendly meals. Think about the packages your food is wrapped in—is it recyclable? Compostable? Reusable? Packaging was one of the main CO2 emitters in my food category, something I have never even thought about. Also, where is the food you’re eating from? Buying local not only ensures fresher produce, but reduces transportation emissions. If it’s too expensive, try growing plants or herbs at home. My family grows lemongrass, mint, basil, tomatoes, and strawberries. In conclusion, any effort to reduce your carbon footprint can be significant; just go for it!