Op-ed: Change your food shop and you can change the world

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed, powerless, and hopeless when you look at the rampant devastation to our natural environment happening all around the world, and the dramatic changes in weather patterns that we are experiencing – from droughts to hurricanes.

The fires and flooding resulting from climate change are apocalyptic in their scale and destructive power, and the recent Australian wildfires are a prime example. They have caused the loss of millions of acres of forests, large-scale loss of biodiversity and entire species to be wiped out (as well as the loss of human lives), and are confirmation that the effects of climate change are already well and truly here.

2050, the point in time that global emissions need to approach net zero for the world to limit the worst impacts of climate change, is also fast approaching. But if you want to do something about what’s happening, you absolutely can. And one of the best places to start is with what you put on your plate. Because if you change your food shop, you can change the world.

Becoming more aware of how the food choices you make impact yourself, other people, your community, and the planet, is essential if you want to try to steer our planet away from ever-increasing environmental catastrophes like those we have witnessed this year.

It’s become abundantly clear that our global food system needs a radical rethink. Industrial, intensive, large-scale farming and food processing is a major contributor to global warming and is causing tremendous suffering to humans and animals and destruction of our natural environment.

Ancient forests are being decimated for farmland, and populations of wild creatures like bees, butterflies, and birds are being killed in their millions by toxic synthetic pesticides. It's harming human health in a myriad of subtle ways, too, with some life-threatening chronic diseases such as cancer being linked to toxic chemicals in our food. Widespread pollution of our oceans and destruction of our soils is also bringing our ability to feed future generations into serious doubt.

My approach, as detailed in my book A Beautiful Balance: A Wellness Guide to Healthy Eating and Feeling Great, is all about eating in a way that is more sustainable for the planet. A balanced approach that encourages more ethical farming, fishing and food production and regenerative agriculture (mainly small-scale and organic), that helps restore soils and biodiversity but that is also sustainable for your individual health.

People often ask me if I think the answer to averting climate catastrophe lies in us all turning vegan, or vegetarian. My answer is that it’s not that black or white.

There is absolutely no doubt, from an environmental perspective, that we need to cut back dramatically on our meat and animal product consumption. To answer the growing global demand for meat, farmers continue to burn and cut down forests to expand pastures. In many parts of the world, ‘grass-fed’ beef simply means a forest was cleared to enable livestock to be grazed there. If a farmer in Brazil cuts down rainforest to produce beef, it won’t matter if the cattle graze on the land in a responsible way, because the loss of the trees is significantly worse for the environment. On many meat and dairy farms, it would be better, from an environmental perspective, to replant the land with trees.

Meat production can only really be environmentally friendly and efficient if it is done in a way that helps restore nutrients and carbon to the soil, brings wildlife and restores biodiversity to the land, and if cattle are fed and cared for in a way that reduces their methane emissions. This also involves having smaller herds on plots of grassland and using land that’s not suitable for food crop production, such as natural grasslands where traditionally, large native herbivores would have roamed and were an important part of the ecosystem.

In the vegan diet, there are also huge environmental issues with industrially grown soya, grain, and almond production – crops that require high inputs of fertilizer, pesticides and herbicides.

From a health perspective, too, not everyone seems to be equally suited to a vegan or vegetarian diet. What works for you food-wise will depend on many factors, including your ancestors’ diet, your health, your environment, and many other variables. We are all different in this sense.

Some people do seem to thrive from such diets, so if you are someone who is already eating a vegan diet, and you are eating in a balanced way and monitoring your nutrient intake and health status – including getting annual blood checks – and you are feeling good, that’s fantastic.

However, I have personally come across some vegans who are experiencing health issues stemming from nutritional deficiencies that are a direct result of their diet, so it’s important to be aware of this. Some signs to look out for include low immunity, feeling lethargic and weak, feeling depressed, crumbling nails, and the cessation of menstrual cycles.

Many people do really well on vegetarian diets, and many other people who do seem to need a bit more animal protein could definitely still thrive on a diet composed of far fewer animal products than they are currently eating

So how can you make a difference? One way is to find out what is sustainable to eat where you live, because this will differ from country to country. For example, some countries have more native grasslands that are not suitable for food crop production but where some sustainable meat production can take place. Some fish are sustainable to eat, in small quantities when caught using sustainable methods, in certain parts of the world where fish stocks are healthy. In other places, where fish stocks are struggling, this might not be the case.

You can make a difference by eating more organic food; by eating more mindfully – slowly, consciously and enjoying every single bite – so you don’t overeat and so you are able to stay connected to how certain foods are really making you feel. You can cut back on food waste by planning your meals and using everything in your fridge and cupboards before it goes off

You can eat far fewer animal products and only choose high quality animal products that are ethically sourced; eat more vegetarian meals, learn how to cook delicious plant-based recipes; eat more locally-grown and produced foods – shopping at local food markets is a great place to start – and read food labels to educate yourself about what things on labels really mean.

And you can eat more natural, plant sourced whole foods – vegetables and fruits, nuts, legumes and ancient and pseudo grains – and animal-sourced food that has been produced sustainably in low greenhouse gas emission systems.

By simply making a few small changes to what and how you eat, you’ll be helping to change the world one bite at a time.

A Beautiful Balance: A Wellness Guide to Healthy Eating and Feeling Great, published by HBKU Press, is available to buy in bookstores around Qatar and on Amazon Kindle as an eBook.