THE ENVIRONMENTAL COST OF WHAT WE EAT: MYTHS, FACTS, AND SWAPS
What we eat can actually say a lot about our relationship with the planet. But when it comes to sustainability, there’s a lot of noise out there. Is going vegan the answer? Is almond milk ruining the environment? Does eating local really make a difference?
In a recent episode of our podcast, How to: Fitness, we delve into this topic and get curious about the impact of our food choices on the environment.
Listen here:
The goal of digging into this topic? To make sense of the data, bust some common myths, and offer practical ways to reduce our environmental impact without giving up everything we love. The goal is not to add to food shame or force you to change your consumption habits - we don’t stand for food shame around here and, if you’ve read my articles or listened to the HTF podcast in the past, you know I’m all about presenting evidence-led information and letting you make the decisions that feel best for you.
First, What Does "Environmental Impact" Really Mean?
When we talk about food’s impact on the planet, we’re talking about more than just emissions. It’s a mix of interconnected systems, including:
Land use – How much land is required to produce a food, and what ecosystem was there before?
Water use – How much water is used and where it’s sourced from matters.
Greenhouse gas emissions – Methane from livestock, CO₂ from fuel, and more.
Biodiversity loss – Clearing wild spaces and overusing chemicals harms ecosystems.
Food waste – Most of a food’s impact happens before it gets to your fridge. Wasting it wastes all those resources.
Understanding the full picture helps us focus on the overall impact of a food, not just what we think makes a food "good" or "bad" for the environment.
The Environmental Impact of Meat and Dairy
Beef is a massive contributor when it comes to environmental impact: methane, land use, water demand, and deforestation (especially in places like the Amazon) all contribute to its outsized footprint. On average, beef can have a carbon footprint 10–20x higher than many plant-based foods.
This is largely due to the biology of cows. They are ruminants, which means they produce methane during digestion - a greenhouse gas many times more potent than carbon dioxide. If we add the land needed for grazing and feed crops, the resource costs quickly stack up to make a big dent in overall emissions worldwide.
Chicken, turkey, and eggs have significantly lower environmental footprints. Swapping beef for poultry even once or twice a week can meaningfully reduce your overall environmental impact.
When it comes to dairy, cow’s milk has a surprisingly high footprint in terms of emissions, water use, and land required. Plant-based alternatives like oat and soy milk generally require fewer resources and generate less pollution. Even almond milk, which does use a lot of water (especially when almonds are grown in drought-prone areas like California) has a much smaller footprint than dairy milk. However, when it comes to plant-milk vs dairy milk we also need to talk about comparing nutrient profiles. We dig into that topic more in the full podcast episode.
What About Meat Substitutes?
Meat alternatives like Beyond and Impossible burgers are far from perfect, but they have a dramatically smaller environmental impact than beef. Producing a Beyond Burger, for example, generates around 90% fewer emissions and uses significantly less land and water.
If you're transitioning away from red meat but still want a burger-like experience, these can be solid middle-ground options.
And while lab-grown (cultivated) meat is still developing and energy-intensive today, its environmental potential could be significant if clean energy sources are used in the production process.
Ultra-Processed Foods vs. Whole Foods
We usually evaluate ultra-processed foods (UPFs) through a health lens, but their environmental cost matters too. These foods require multiple production steps, more packaging, refrigeration or freezing during transport, and require longer shelf life. All of these factors increase energy use, waste, and emissions.
That said, UPFs aren’t inherently evil! Convenience plays a real role in accessibility and consistency. Still, choosing whole or minimally processed foods when possible is a good way to reduce environmental strain.
Food Waste Is a Bigger Deal Than You Think
Here’s a stat that floored me: if food waste were a country, it would be the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases (behind only China and the U.S)!
30–40% of all food in the U.S. is wasted.
Globally, food waste accounts for 8–10% of greenhouse gas emissions.
Most of a food’s impact happens before it ever reaches your kitchen.
So when food is tossed all those resources - land, water, fuel, labor - are lost too.
Much of this is due to the production and transportation systems that handle our foods, but we also play a role here, too! Simple changes like meal planning (so we don’t buy/waste excess food), freezing leftovers, buying only what you need, and learning the difference between "best by" and "use by" labels can make a massive difference.
The most sustainable food is the food you actually eat.
Individual vs. Systemic Responsibility (and Why Both Matter)
Truth: 100 corporations are responsible for around 70% of global emissions. So yes, individual dietary changes alone won’t solve climate change.
But our actions do send signals.
Individual actions drive demand, and demand influences supply chains, innovation, and policy. Companies expand what people buy; that means even small, consistent choices (like swapping beef for chicken or oat milk for dairy) create ripple effects.
It’s a false binary to think the environmental impact of the food we eat is either "systemic or individual" responsibility. It’s both! We don’t need 8 billion people to live perfectly sustainable lives. We need millions of people taking imperfect action in the same direction.
Here are some realistic ways we can reduce our food footprint:
Reduce red meat (especially beef). Even cutting one serving a week makes a difference. Chicken, turkey, eggs, or plant-based proteins are all better alternatives, and we can make a bigger difference by limiting intake of beef and lamb rather than a chicken-eater going vegetarian.
Choose plant milks when possible. Oat and soy milk are especially sustainable, balancing low impact and solid nutrition.
Eat what you buy. Plan meals, freeze leftovers, use up your produce, and don’t let good food go to waste.
Opt for fewer packaged foods. Go for bulk, fresh, or whole-food options when you can to cut down on energy and material use (while also acknowledging that convenience foods absolutely have their place!)
We don’t need to be perfect, but we can become more aware of the impact of our food choices and participate with our buying habits and consumption patterns. Small, thoughtful shifts in how we shop, eat, and reduce waste can add up, especially when they happen at scale!
We dive far deeper into this topic (with more surprising statistics and even a fun little “this or that” game!) in the full episode: Lowering the Environmental Impact of Your Diet (Without Going Vegan)
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