What is a climatarian diet, and can it save the world? – Pebble magazine (essential reading) has been looking into this idea. In a nutshell, it says (no pun surely intended) the diet involves eating with the planet in mind. Planet = Plant + "e for environment" so to speak. Nifty. I sense an advertising campaign.
It's predominantly a plant-based diet focusing on whole rather than processed food. Pebble Mag doesn’t rule out meat consumption or animal products, encouraging us to reduce but not eliminate them (so it's a "Boo!" from the militant vegan crowd). And it’s about eating local and seasonal produce to reduce food miles. Of course, it’s also about reducing plastic packaging, limiting food waste and choosing sustainable food brands and businesses. Such a diet could reduce my CO2 emissions by 1.5 tonnes a year, I'm told. That’s because I'd be "drastically reducing the carbon emissions caused by growing or producing, processing and transportation." Just so.
The other key element of a diet to keep in mind is you, the eater; your health and wellbeing. Happily, there's no inherent contradiction between these goals. Pebble Mag ends with a helpful splash of realism:
"Ultimately, the climatarian diet is about eating with the intention to reduce the carbon footprint in your diet. It’s about doing better rather than being perfect. The reality is, the majority of the carbon footprint in the food industry doesn't lie with the consumer. The industry still has a long way to go in terms of sustainability."
I'm writing this just before lunch at which I'll be eating English cheese and home-made bread made with locally-grown organic flour and a sourdough yeast starter and cooked by electricity from solar panels. So far, so climatarian, but I'd best not mention all those salad items lurking in the fridge that came from Spain. Or the oranges, bananas and grapefruit. I'm still work in progress you see ...
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