Reduce food-related emissions by eating less meat

Food accounts for 10-30% of a household's carbon footprint, with meat (especially beef and lamb) being the most carbon-intensive. Replacing 2-3 meat meals per week with plant-based alternatives reduces food emissions by 20-30%. You do not need to become vegetarian — even small shifts matter.

Why It Works

Beef produces 60 kg of CO2 per kg of food — about 20x more than plant proteins like beans or lentils. Dairy, pork, and chicken have intermediate footprints. Shifting even partially toward plant-based protein is one of the single most impactful individual climate actions.

Tips

• Start with "Meatless Mondays" and expand from there
• Beans, lentils, and tofu are the lowest-emission protein sources and also the cheapest
• Chicken has roughly 1/5 the carbon footprint of beef — swapping beef for chicken is a significant reduction
• Locally grown produce has a smaller footprint than imported, but what you eat matters more than where it comes from