The Americans eat as much meat as always, prepare beef and chicken at home at least four nights a week. However, consuming less meat is one of the best ways to reduce the environmental impacts of our food, commonly known as our food footprint. And while adopting a vegetarian is an approach, some people can find this extreme or excessive choice.
But, do you know other reduced meat movements, such as reduction, demital and flexital? Any of these options can help you reduce the amount of meat you eat at a pace that feels more comfortable than giving up meat.
What is a reduced diet?
If you are at the beginning of your trip to reduce the amount of animal protein you consume, a reduced diet could be a good option.
The founder of the movement, Brian Kateman, coina the term as a way to forge a space for people who want to “go to their own speed […] Instead of immersing head in plants based. “With a reduced diet,” the act of trying is encouraged, “that the diet is not diet or morally restrictive.
“Anyone who makes small positive changes in his diet is a reducer, and that is something we must celebrate,” says Kateman.
Because the reductaries naturally go to their own rhythm, climate or impact on carbon is not clear and depends on individual commitment. That said, the regular reductic elections make the difference; For example, choosing a soy -based citizen or peas can mean up to 87% less water, 96% less country and 89% less greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) than a meat hamburger.
What is a delay diet?
If you have regularly sought plant -based alternatives, it is possible to be a demitary even if you did not know about this label before.
A porter is some that makes a conscious effort to reduce its consumption of meat for environmental reasons. A UN report recently applied the term to mean the practice of reducing its consumption of meat and dairy. He found that if Europeans reduced their consumption of meat and dairy, “the harmful emissions of greenhouse gases of the continent agriculture would fall into 25% and 40% bets.”
If you are looking to reduce its consumption of the most carbon intensive meats, some options result in a greater carbon impact than others. Cattle raised for meat greatly creates the majority of GHG to 59 kilograms or CO2-EQ per kilogram or beef of beef, 130 kilograms or CO2-EQ per pound. This is more than twice the carbon footprint of the next more intensive meat, lamb and lamb. These are closely followed by dairy cows, which means that eating less cheese is also a friendly choice for food printing. Camarones and cultivation fish, as well as corral birds, also have a significant carbon footprint, but is much lower than that of ruminants.
A 2014 study in the United Kingdom found that the carbon footprint of the average vegetarian diet was approximately half of a “high meat” diet. Assuming that the delors choose to cut higher carbon animal proteins, this diet can help you shave around a quarter of the carbon footprint of their food. Consider quality protein as Tempeh, chickpeas and, best of all, the humble but powerful and quite friendly with the weather.
What is a flexitarian diet?
A flexitarian is a person with a mainly vegetarian or vegan diet that occasionally also eats meat, fish and dairy. Flexy, as the prefix suggests, are “flexible” in their approach and can make exceptions for occasional dietary or cultural reasons (such as health needs or travel).
We could compare flexitarism with the inverse or “Monday without meat”; Instead of going without meat one day a week, a flexitarian could consume animal protein once a week. This diet can also help people who wish to make the transition to a vegetarian diet to avoid full force traps, and then make it difficult for Montain.
If vegetarians can expect to reduce their CO2 emissions by 3% to 30%, flexitarians should expect slightly smaller carbon savings, but significantly more than demy and reductory diets save.
That said, dairy products, special cheese, are also carbon intensive due to milk cows agriculture emissions. Of course, how much can reduce its dietary GHG emissions is individual and depends on how flexible consummate.
Today, up to 30% of Americans currently follow the submission of a flexitarian diet, including many famous flexitories. If your style is more realistic, take note of this self -identifying “bad vegetarian” (which could in fact be flexar).
There is not a single way to reduce your food footprint
Whether it aims at flexitarian, delay, reduced or intermediate reduction, they are significant ways to “combat climate change with diet change,” as the Earth Day Network says. You do not have to choose a label, but the way it identifies can help clarify your goals to consume less meat.
We recommend that you choose the right path to You; That is, one with whom you can commit without guilt. With easy options such as Monday without meat (or breakfast and lunch without meat) and the growing range of meat and vegan recipes based alternatives, each can find our own way to a Moreainable diet.
For bonus points, buy from local producers to ensure that the impact on carbon by sending their foods cannot not their efforts.
Editor’s note: Originally published on April 19, 2022, this article was updated in April 2025.
