We all know it, meat is hard on the environment. Since beef and lamb are the meats with
the highest carbon costs, try to cut back on your cow consumption this summer. While you're cutting back on cow products, reducing dairy consumption can also be hugely helpful in limiting the carbon emissions from your plate. Pork, chicken, eggs, fish and mollusks are also lower-carbon alternatives that are still packed protein.
Fruits and vegetables have far less carbon per gram of protein and are almost always more sustainable than livestock products. With produce, you need to ask yourself how far your salad or fruit cup had to travel to get to you. Typically, the farther the food came from, the worse it is for the environment. Another helpful fruit-specific tip is to consider the strength/delicacy of the crop. A tough-skinned banana or orange is a better bet than a fragile raspberry because it likely traveled on a boat rather than a plane. If you must eat delicate fruits like berries when they are out of season, consider buying them frozen.
Finally, if you need your beef and your berries, remember this one tip. Eat EVERYTHING you buy. Think critically about how many mouths you have to feed and how much time you have before your products go bad. If you miscalculate, consider jarring, pickling, freezing or baking your items to extend their lives. This Independence Day, free your trash bins of food waste!
