i’m a person who loooves to eat meats and candies, and lately i’ve been tryna stop and eat healthier. i’ve tried going vegan, which was a fail, and vegetarian was also hard. what are
other ways i can help the planet by consuming less food?

Just try to limit yourself. Instead of going 100% vegan or vegetarian, you could eat, for example, one meal a week containing beef or other animal products. Set limits for yourself, and over time you can become more used to this lifestyle, and do it more often.

I agree that it’s hard to stop eating meats because we’ve grown up eating them and it’s hard to stop. It’s kind of like a little addiction, when we stop we just want more and more. So if you want to stop eating meat go slowly into it.

I agree it’s harder to eat better. Bacon is good so is steak shrimp and all sea food. But going vegetarian just doesn’t seem like it would taste good, 400 McDonald’s burgers can come from 1 single cow. It seems hard to give up a tender burger for a veggie patty.

I try to only eat one or less meal with red meat a week. This is great for me because I still get to have that one meal of something I really like. As a substitute I eat a lot of chicken and fish, which are much better for you and the environment. I also try to eat lots of beans because they are a great substitute for meat and personally I love them.

Yes it’s hard to limit your consumption of meat especially because it provides protein, but maybe try and find other meals that would give you the same nutrients? But I agree, you should move slowly into this because it could be a difficult change.

yes I 100% agree. healthy foods that are both better for you and the environment are really expensive making it hard for people who don't have much money.

I think that it is really hard to change everything in your life and become vegan. It is important to eat healthy for your body, but in terms of the environment, I think it is all about limiting the amount of animal products we consume. The main problem is the fact big companies such as McDonald's kills millions of animals a year. This is not healthy whatsoever, not to mention the gross substances they dip their meat in. It is important to buy from local, healthy sources that treat their animals with care and have smaller farms. An overload of cows, for example, can create a lot of greenhouse gases that are toxic to the violent. In my experience, I eat animal products on some occasions, but from local, organic farms that create a smaller carbon footprints. We have to support the companies that are treating their animals right, to make a difference.

You probably should not try that hard. The change of food habits can be really difficult so you should change it slowly and gradually. Or in another way, you can conceive it not as the change of your habits but as a solution for the climat issues (change of behavior). Becoming vegan is not only a way to eat healthier. By reducing our meat consommation, we reduce the emission of CO2 because we need the producer of meat to produce less meat. That is to say, changing your food habits is an opportunity for you to contribute to the changes our world is undergoing. It is probably not the advise that will change your life, but what you have to understand is that change is only a state of mind and therefore you are the only one who can set this change up.

I agree with all the above replies, changes make a difference, but when it comes to changing habits it may be harder. Going vegan is a very big challenge that not everyone can easily overcome but there are substitutes to this option, maybe more accessible, more doable for you. Even if it’s not a change as drastic as veganism, you could try gradually reducing your meat, and at the same time try to eat vegetarian food until you find what really works for you. It makes it also easier to make these changes if you bring your friends along through the process, so that you can all support each other. I also think that what stops us from eating differently is we fear what’s unfamiliar and we mostly focus on the negative aspects of the outcome. However once we look at the bigger picture we realise it only takes hope to make a difference, little by little!

It is a little hard to eat better. One thing that will cut down your carbon footprint is going vegetarian. I have started going vegetarian once a week which is a lot better for the planet. If this is too hard for you, you should at least try cutting down on eating less red meat.

It is definetly hard to completely go vegan or vegetarian, however not only does the change help the planet but also your health. I would suggest to at least cut red meat down and try to eat as much plant/homegrown meals as possible.

Personally for me I dont think that not eating red meat is possible or at least something I would be willing to do. However, there are other ways you can help like deciding not to eat processed foods from big companies for instance McDonald's who produces 22 million metric tons of greenhouse gas a year just on their meet.

It's definitely hard to go vegan/vegetarian. I myself was a meat eater not too long ago. Going vegetarian, in my opinion is quite a bit easier than going vegan. While going vegan would be ideal for the planet, it becomes quite the hassle to sustain a completely vegan diet; especially as young people, who may not have other vegan eaters in the family. I went vegetarian a while ago, and it was hard at first, but it gets a lot better. It really helps reduce your carbon footprint, and in my opinion, it's worth it. The trick to going vegetarian is to do it slowly, if you find it super difficult to stop eating meat, maybe just try to gradually consume less meat over time. Anything you can do do consume less meat will reduce your carbon footprint. Another thing you could look at is your dairy consumption. Milk is something that can be quite a bit easier to cut out of your diet than meat. There are many options to replace milk, such as almond or oat milk. I personally prefer oat milk, but anything you can do to consume less dairy will also help reduce your carbon footprint. Overall, i suggest you try to gradually reduce your meat and dairy consumption instead of cutting it out for good, it can be a lot easier that way.

It really is challenging to change our meat-based diets to those that omit the meat, especially if we have been raised in a household that mainly consumes meat-incorporating meals or have grown accustomed to eating such. It is important to begin small and slowly work our way up. Think of a sub-goal that ultimately leads to cutting off meat from your diet entirely. Think of one that seems achievable for yourself (like beginning with reducing the meat-based meals you eat in a week) because we all know that rapid developments are difficult to keep up with. Luckily, we now have plant-based alternatives for food like chicken nuggets. It also helps motivate yourself if you think about the outcome that can result in changing your diet: it will affect not only the environment positively, but your own health as well. Methane production from cow waste and the depletion of resources like crops and grains from raising livestock contributes to the large carbon and water footprint of meat food products like hamburger patties. Thus the reduction of meat from your diet helps the planet greatly. At the end of the day, it will result in beneficial outcomes. I also think that discipline and determination are values that are necessary to have if we are striving to change- this does not only include the change in diet but applies to all kinds of change in general. Successfully transitioning to a plant-based diet from a meat-based one requires a change in self first like user Terahnui mentioned.

I agree that it is harder to eat better. Despite the challenge, it is worth it, not only for your own health, but for the health of the planet. However, not everyone has the resources to eat 'healthy'. Organic and ethical produce is expensive, and people already struggling to put food on the table cannot afford to be selective about the effect their food has on the environment. It is an issue of equity. It is not the fault of struggling communities that they contribute to climate change, but rather corporate influence over the food market. Companies that distribute cheap produce know that their products are cost competitive, and they are aware that their low prices trap low-income citizens. If their interests aligned more with those of the planet, their consumers would not be forced to choose between eating 'unhealthy' or not at all, and a major factor preventing the mitigation of the climate crisis would be overcome.

you don’t have to be fully vegan u can do meatless monday or have a schedule of when u can or can’t eat meat and that will do u part in helping the earth

Yeah, I agree, I deal with the same thing but there's been a few things that have contributing to getting off eating so much. I don't think I could very give up all meat, but you can start by cutting out red meats and like beef and such. Cows and pigs id say is the biggest one too stay away from. I do like to have one cheat day a week where I can eat whatever I want. So slow you're meat consumption in general and eat other types of meals, and if you feel you need meat it should bee fish or turkey, or something similar.

I can relate with you. It can be hard especially if you have adults who cook food for you. I know that if I tried to go vegetarian or vegan it would be really hard. I think you just have to try your best. Maybe try only eating meat/animal products on certain days or slowly taking them out of your diet. There are also different plant based food items that taste a lot like meat.