Know Your Plate (KYP) for Climate Change. Are you a Climate Change Hero or a villain? Let’s check it.

We all are aware of  KYCs (know your customer) because it is constantly communicated by either banking institutions or the government and we are warned as well to face financial/transactional challenges if we don’t take it seriously. However, awareness about our plate is less or in other words, we have become slaves to our taste buds and cravings as we tend to neglect all the facts that a few foods are not only impacting your health but damaging our environment and several species either vanished or on the verge of extinction.

 

Non – Non-vegetarian diets rely heavily on Animal-based products which is one of the major culprits, resulting in climate change. 

Do I seem unrealistic? let me share some data for your reference.

Driving factors of Climate Change:

• Methane Emission: As we are aware, our meat comes from industrialized sources where cattle rearing is one of the most profitable businesses, however, the production of meat also leads to methane emission during the digestion process of cattle. In addition to that, methane is 25 times more effective at trapping atmospheric heat than CO2. Thus, it is completely to ourselves to actionable steps as we want to keep the environment protection to the Kid’s civics and social studies books or we would like to take this further in spreading awareness, starting from our households.

 

• Water Consumption: Water Consumption is meat production is the highest, to produce 1 KG of Meat, it requires 15,400 Liters of water whereas it is just 322 Liters for vegetables and 1644 Liters for cereals. Now it is on us to evaluate whether are we still going to promote non-veg diets after understanding that it consume 50 times more water than vegetables?

 

• Food Wastage: We all must have observed that the leftover foods in our refrigerator, food spoiled during transportation, on store’s selves, etc. compounds the emission issue as it contributes approx. 10% of global emissions. Furthermore, there is no penalization for wasting food, 1.3 billion tons of food are wasted globally, which is one-third of all the food produced globally (FAO). Hence, it is our primary responsibility to reduce the food wastage at every level.

• Deforestation: Deforestation is not only taking place due to Infrastructural development, but it is also taking place due to the shift in Food consumption patterns.  For reference, rapid deforestation is ongoing in Amazon forests and 70% is directly due to the contribution of cattle ranching. Forests are called to be the ‘ lungs of the Earth’ and we are intoxicating our earth not only by increasing our carbon footprints but cutting trees and pasturelands and eliminating mangroves are significantly leading to climatic disasters.

Initiatives to stop Climate Change at Global Level

We have seen initiatives and efforts to address this global issue which could be seen through various international treaties and conventions like the Paris Agreement (2015), FAO’s Global Initiative on Food Loss and Waste Reduction, EAT-Lancet Commission (2019), and 17 Sustainable Development Goals are agreed to work upon the issues related to climate change, which hampers not only the humans but all the species on this planet earth.

 

What are the potential Solutions to stop environmental degradation at an individual level?

1. Community-level awareness and efforts: If we are expecting change from a particular institution or the body, it might not be effective as it requires behavioral and awareness level changes, and that only could be done when the whole community is taking accountability and responsibility for their actions. Hence, the institution should provide a platform and opportunities to the community so that they can come together and take action. For example, In India, the “Clean India Movement, called ‘Swhachata Abhiyan” brought all the countrymen together and our cities started ranking in the global cleanliness ranking, however, we are also in the top polluted list, but that shows that unified efforts could lead to the change we want to see.  To supplement this we can promote, the composting of food waste, sharing the surplus food with those who require it the most, and support communities who are working voluntarily to reduce waste to mitigate waste and emissions.
2. Education and Awareness: The most important step where the Government could step in and aware the community on the issue and not only focus on the taxes they collect form the meat-producing companies. They should particularly highlight the carbon footprint of dietary actions of the community and specific taxes should be levied as a policy level change on the consumers of meat and producers of meat to reduce the consumption and safeguard the interest of the nation towards environment and sustainability.
3. Shift towards Plant-based diets: We understand the logic behind protein requirements and the availability of amino acids, however, some foods might not be tastier like meat but they could supplement your nutritional requirements. Furthermore, plant-based diets are healthier options, supplemented by studies as well, that reducing the consumption of meat could significantly reduce the chances of multiple gut diseases and prevent cancer cell development. For meat lovers, reducing the consumption of meat will reduce their carbon footprints and they will join the “Climate Saviour’s Club”, seeking to safeguard life on Earth which could be handed over to the coming generations. Eating Organic or natural once in a while will not suit the purpose and it will remain just for your Insta selfies and Facebook stories and reels. We need to introspect on how our lifestyle is contributing to the GHGs and how we can reduce our carbon footprint.

To conclude, Knowing your Plate( KYP) could be a game changer and  as it will decide your contribution towards making the world more holistic, diverse, and suited for all species.If you the above things, you are a Climate Change Ambassador and certainly the Hero who is leading us to a better future.