Diet for a Warming Planet: What to Eat in the Wake of Climate Change

By Contributing Writer, 4-28-07

Thanks to Al Gore and others in the business of teaching Americans the science of global warming, many of us realize that we must act now to minimize looming disaster. We’ve been told what to change about our driving habits, but what about our eating? According to a report from the University of Chicago (2002), food production accounts for 17 percent of all fossil fuels used. So here are some ideas for turning down the heat with the food you eat. 

1. Consider Becoming a Vegetarian.
Here’s why: The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization recently (2006) issued a report on global warming, concluding that livestock are responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than all forms of motorized transportation put together. For me, this piece of information was tough to swallow.  After reading Diet for a Small Planet in the eighties I followed the enlightened masses and gave up meat.  But in the nineties and beyond I was introduced to the health benefits of eating animals, thanks to Dr. Atkins, the book Eat Right for your Blood Type, and most recently a cookbook called Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon.

I recently visited www.organicconsumers.org where the title of the home page article reads: “Vegetarian Is the New Prius.” And the www.earthsave.org home page reports “vegetarianism is the most effective tool against climate change in our lifetimes.” Earthsave and other green groups suggest we consider that methane, a greenhouse gas emitted from the wind and manure of livestock, warms the world twenty times faster than carbon dioxide; and livestock occupy 70 percent of all agricultural land and 30 percent of total land surface on the planet.  That’s a lot of cows (and pigs and chickens).  Also consider that 70 percent of former forests in the Amazon have been converted to animal grazing sites through deforestation, and trees are one of our best friends when it comes to absorbing greenhouse gases.

So now you’re probably wondering, what about the good meat at the Co-op?  Well, logic would have it that grass fed cows living on small local farms probably don’t do the kind of damage caused by conventional livestock production practices. The Co-op’s cows are grass fed, and likely graze on land that has not been deforested, and their manure is free from pesticides and hormones that would potentially threaten land and waterways.  Their free roaming habits naturally fertilize pastures, without the need for synthetic fertilizers.  If you’re going to eat meat, choose local and grass fed, or wild game.

2. Be a yokel, buy local.
This can be tough for Montanans, especially in winter when shallots and potatoes are the only local produce on the shelf. To encourage local produce offerings the Co-op has recently created the new Farm to Market Coordinator position, filled by Joel Ellefson.  Joel is in the process of contacting and getting commitments from local farmers as to what, how much and when they’ll supply the Co-op with local produce. He and other staff and board members are looking at how they can support more local agriculture. 

When you’re shopping for food, get to know the birthplace and travel history of the item you’re intending to purchase.  Consider the miles the food has journeyed to get to your local food supplier, and what form of transportation it used.  Did it come by boat (least greenhouse gas producing), train (a little worse), truck (a lot worse) or plane (the worst)?  Think about this: the energy used to ship a head of lettuce from Salinas Valley, CA to Washington D.C. is 36 times greater than the food energy the lettuce provides.  The average piece of food travels 1,500 miles.  So instead of just counting calories, consider including miles as well.

If you’re looking for year-round Montana offerings at the Co-op, there’s organic wine grown and bottled in Missoula, goat cheese, wheat and kamut berries, beans, wheat flour and cereal, safflower oil, raw milk organic cow cheese, eggs, unprocessed honey, pork, beef and buffalo.  Not too shabby for a winter diet.

3. Don’t panic, eat organic.
A well-documented article posted at www.sustainable.org says “the biggest culprit of fossil fuel usage in industrial farming is not transporting food or fueling machinery; it’s chemicals.  As much as forty percent of energy used in the food system goes towards the production of artificial fertilizers and pesticides.” One more great reason to go organic.

4. Grow your own.
Learn about ways to extend the growing season with cold frames, underground food storage, year round sprouting, canning, drying and more. 

5. If you must have coffee, drink shade grown.
Conventional coffee beans are mostly grown on lands that were once tropical forests, and we need those forests to survive.  Shade grown is grown in the shade (duh) so we don’t need to sacrifice trees for our coffee habits.  The Co-op offers only fairly traded, shade grown coffee, including varieties from several local providers who process their beans here at home.

6. Buy unprocessed food, in bulk, if you can.
An article found on www.sustainable.org entitled “Fossil Fuel and Energy Use” reads: “Approximately 23 percent of energy used in our food production system is allocated to processing and packaging food.” Consider homemade cloth bags for loading up on grains and beans, and when you can’t get it in bulk, choose packaging that is reusable, like glass jars.

7. Eat at home, or at least at the Co-op.
That way you’ll know where your food is coming from, how it’s grown and who’s cooking it.  It’s also worth mentioning here the Southwest Montana Farm to Table Network, a group of local restaurants, caterers, institutions, schools, farmers, ranchers and food producers whose goal is “to bring more Montana farm food to Southwest Montana restaurants and institutional dining tables.” Connect with them through the Cooperation for the Northern Rockies (www.northrock.org).

It would help conscientious shoppers if our food was labeled to inform us of its past. The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture suggests that food purveyors sport “eco-labels” on all their food products, informing us of miles traveled and total greenhouse gas emissions from planting, growth, harvest, storage and transport.  The Co-op is working on a food rating system to help shoppers make more sustainable choices.  The new system will consider where and how food items are grown and harvested and rate them accordingly.  We should see the new signage hit the shelves in the produce and meat departments in the coming months.

While the news of global warming is dark and terrifying, I can’t help but see some of the potential benefits from this massive wake-up call.  If our industrialized society chooses to wake up, we will have to become more mindful about the origins and potential futures of all we consume.  And our communities will have to become much more communal.  Our lifestyles will have to slow down, be more in-touch with the earth and its changing seasons and the other species we share the planet with.  We’ll be spending more time with our families eating more homegrown and home cooked meals, less time in our cars, less time shopping and more time digging in the earth.

Joan Diamond writes from Bozeman. This piece originally appeared in the Bozeman Community Food Co-op’s newsletter.