There are two ways you can pursue a climate-friendly diet. The first, and most significant, is to minimize your consumption of meat. Cattle farming not only leads to deforestation in many parts of the world, but cows emit methane directly through flatulence and belching, and indirectly through rotting manure. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming . Moreover, each pound of beef is the product of seven pounds of grain, so fewer cows means much less corn grown to feed them, less fertilizer use, and thus fewer nitrous oxide emissions.
Pig farms produce many of the same problems - especially methane emitted from their wastes.
A second way to reduce your climate impact is to eat organic foods. Organic farming has environmental benefits that go far beyond the fact that it renounces the use of pesticides and promotes the accumulation of healthy soil. Organic farmers also forgo the use of nitrogen fertilizers, the production of which is very energy intensive, generating a significant amount of CO2. Nitrogen fertilizers also emit nitrous oxides, important greenhouse gases, when improperly used. Soon we will provide direct links to the purchase of organic and vegetarian food products, including shade-grown coffee that also promotes biodiversity.