Resources for Climate Friendly Eating

I'll start by saying that I'm a vegan. And before you get all "here we go, another smug, wholefood plant-based preacher trying to make me feel bad for eating meat", I'd just like to remind you that you’re reading a blog written by an environmentalist. Don’t act like you didn’t realise. It’s in large font in the site header.

Maybe you don’t want to be a vegan. That’s fine. But if you’re going to go the trouble of reading an environmental blog, you want to make damn sure the blogger is a vegan. Why? Because if someone has the audacity to stand on their soapbox and lecture others about their carbon footprint, they should at least have made a few personal sacrifices in order to reduce their own.

If you read a blog about plumbing, you should expect it to be written by a plumber. If you read a blog about reducing your carbon footprint, it should be written by a vegan. That needs to be the baseline prerequisite for becoming an environmental advocate.

Not that I’m an environmental advocate. And this is not a blog about helping people reduce their carbon footprint. I do bang on a bit about the climate-destroying habits of my fellow citizens though, so best be sure my soapbox is packed with organic, vegan, cruelty-free, biodegradable, ocean-friendly soap.

Now, nobody is ever going to force you to give up meat pies, fried chicken, and barbequed ribs. Not the surgeon when you go in for your triple bypass, and certainly not me. But this is my blog, not yours, so I am going to, at times, point out how destructive animal agriculture is.

Why? Because it is.

Take the Amazon Rainforest. With the capacity to store billions of tonnes of carbon each year, it is quite possibly the most valuable resource we have in our fight against rising CO2 levels. I think we can all agree that it's quite important. Just not as important as steak, apparently.

Like I said, I’m not going to force anyone to stop eating meat, but eating a bean burrito once in a while is also not going to kill you. In fact, it will likely make you live a bit longer.

If you want to feel motivated to eat more plants, read any of the books below. Most of them are more about the health benefits than the environment and animals. That is intentional.

People are more likely to change their habits if there is a personal benefit. Global warming, the collapse of oceanic ecosystems and deforestation appear to be far less concerning to people than weight gain and premature aging. Whatever. The planet doesn't care why you opt to eat less meat, just that you do.

This is an important topic so if you can't be bothered reading, I have listed several good podcasts below too.

If that's also too hard, fine. Just watch the movies listed at the bottom.

If none of this appeals, why are you still here? Either pick something from the list or go google something else.