Overview

Through an analysis of eco-friendly food choices, this article will walk you through the best kinds of food to promote a sustainable lifestyle, why they benefit your health and the planet, and how you can incorporate them into your diet, empowering you to make informed decisions for a healthier planet and body.

The best sustainable foods fit into a few broad categories:

• Legumes
• Grains/cereal
• Nuts and seeds
• Local produce
• Sustainable seafood
• Fungi

This is by no means a complete list of foods that satisfy the ‘sustainable’ criteria but gives a broad guide of what sustainability in consumption means. The UN provides three different ways a food can be sustainable.

1. Economically stable - it is profitable throughout
2. Socially sustainable - it has broad benefits for society
3. Environmentally sustainable - it has a net positive or neutral impact on the environment.¹ Throughout the rest of this article, I will further develop upon these ideas to give a broader sense of what makes food sustainable, and how the foods above fit into the category of sustainable foods

Greenhouse gases

Greenhouse gases have been proven to contribute to global warming.² Within the food supply chain, the single biggest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions is beef production, with 60 kg of CO­₂ equivalents being released per kilogram of beef.³ Also shown in the same article, meat farming contributes to 3 of the 4 top greenhouse gases as does cheese. The reason for this is the contribution of these foods to methane emission, which has been shown to be 28x as potent a greenhouse gas as CO₂.⁴

With this data in mind, we can deduce that meat is not necessarily a sustainable food. While it is not reasonable to expect people to stop eating meat entirely, reducing the amount of meat eaten by one day per week would achieve the same difference in greenhouse gas emissions as having a diet free from food miles, where food is not transported anywhere before consumption.⁵

Meat alternatives are a suitable replacement for the meat itself, providing a sustainable alternative to meat consumption while minimising the effect on one’s overall diet. Furthermore, many meat alternatives are made from products that are more sustainable than many other traditional fruits and vegetables, since they can be grown in many different conditions and areas. This brings us to the next factor for food sustainability:

Local and seasonal foods

Although much less detrimental to the environment than the consumption of meat, reducing food miles can make an impact on how sustainable a food is. Clearly, the fewer fossil fuels that are consumed in the transportation of foods, the more sustainable that food is.

Food is usually transported to a country when the weather conditions are not suitable for growth in the target country itself. An example of this is growing tomatoes in the UK – tomatoes are usually grown in large batches outdoors in the UK whilst in season, but out of season, they are brought in from Spain. This is a process known as ‘global seasonality’.

However, reducing the number of tomatoes brought in from Spain is not necessarily the right option for reducing carbon footprint. Growing tomatoes in the UK within greenhouses has been shown to produce 5x more greenhouse gases than importing from abroad⁶, and importing from abroad is more economically sustainable due to international trade stimulation. For this reason, while we should consume foods that are in season locally, reducing consumption of foods that are out of season should be reduced for optimal sustainability.

This is also related to how we can ethically and sustainably consume meat. Since meat and dairy products don’t go out of season, we can ethically and sustainably continue to consume meat, supporting local economic practices within farmers’ markets, reducing global carbon footprints, and ensuring that battery-farmed meats are consumed less. By understanding the source of the food, we can ensure that ethical consumption is increased while carbon footprint is reduced.

There are other foods that do not go out of season, and this next section will detail how we can increase sustainable consumption while also enjoying food that is grown locally, year-round.

Year-round foods

Foods that don’t have a season tend to be easier to grow, requiring fewer natural resources and less space to grow. This has many benefits - firstly, we are taking up less room that can be occupied by nitrogenating crops, or CO₂-negative plants. Secondly, there would be more resources that can be used in other ways.

A prime example of a non-seasonal food is the mushroom. A mushroom is a fungus that, while requiring food/nutrition like plants/animals, takes its nutrition from decaying matter or plants that would not necessarily be utilised in other ways. They are essential in the process of recycling organic matter, and further can be exploited by humans to turn decaying matter into food that can be safely eaten.⁷ Moreover, mushrooms that are not considered edible have been used medicinally, which provides further utility to humans.

Legumes are another kind of food that can be grown in many conditions with few resources. Other than just providing a low environmental footprint through growth, they also provide significant health benefits. They can both be grown in a variety of climates, soil types, and conditions, while also requiring less water and fertiliser than many other different crops.⁸

Legumes also have one other crucial element in their growth: most provide nitrogen fixing through their root nodules, and as such can be used to nitrogenate the soil post crop growth. This fundamentally gives them an advantage over many other sustainable foods, as farmers can replace fertiliser that would traditionally be used to nitrogen-fix the soil with legumes.

This would reduce the need for fertiliser production, minimising the carbon footprint of production through the Haber process, and then would provide utility through growth and consumption. Effective crop rotation is key in sustainably making food, and by increasing consumption of these foods, one can ensure that they are contributing to the reduction of burning of fossil fuels.

Batch cooking

One of the main limiting factors of people eating sustainably is the cost of food. Battery farming of meat, growth in greenhouses, and the convenience of fast food have led to unsustainable farming practices that prioritises convenience and cost reduction over environmental health. As a result, the price of meat has dropped to a point where it is often as cheap as (or cheaper than) corresponding vegetables, producing a downward spiral – more consumption of meat, further cost savings from wholesale farming, and further price reductions.

One solution that people can have is batch cooking food, rather than eating for convenience. Through cooking for several days in one go, one can increase the amount of produce bought while decreasing the amount of waste from food consumed. This will generate an effective price decrease per portion prepared for the average consumer, and through effective meal planning and preparation, also provide more structure to the week and provide additional health benefits.

These are all tips that can provide a realistic overall difference to one’s lifestyle and contribution to the environment, and combined with other environmentally-conscious life changes, can make a large difference when adopted on a systematic basis.

Summary

This article explores eco-friendly food choices that promote a sustainable lifestyle, benefiting both health and the planet. It categorizes the best sustainable foods into legumes, grains/cereal, nuts and seeds, local produce, sustainable seafood, and fungi. While this list is not exhaustive, it provides a broad understanding of sustainable consumption. Sustainable foods meet three UN criteria: economic stability, social sustainability, and environmental sustainability.

Greenhouse gases significantly contribute to global warming, with beef production being the largest emitter. Producing 60 kg of CO2 equivalents per kilogram of beef, it is clear that reducing meat consumption, even by one day per week, can notably decrease greenhouse gas emissions. Sustainable meat alternatives, such as plant-based substitutes, can further minimize environmental impact.

Reducing food miles enhances sustainability by decreasing fossil fuel consumption. For instance, while importing tomatoes from Spain might sometimes be more sustainable than local greenhouse production, consuming local, in-season foods is generally preferable. Ethically and sustainably sourced meat supports local economies and reduces carbon footprints.

Non-seasonal foods like mushrooms and legumes require fewer resources and space to grow, offering environmental and health benefits. Mushrooms recycle organic matter and provide medicinal benefits, while legumes improve soil fertility through nitrogen fixation, reducing the need for synthetic fertilizers. Legumes also require less water and fertilizer than many other crops, adding to their sustainability.

Batch cooking can make sustainable eating more affordable by reducing food waste and lowering costs per portion. This method promotes structured meal planning and can lead to additional health benefits.

By analyzing eco-friendly food choices, this article guides readers toward a sustainable lifestyle, highlighting foods that benefit both health and the planet. Sustainable foods are economically stable, socially beneficial, and environmentally positive. Reducing meat consumption, choosing local and seasonal foods, and incorporating non-seasonal options like mushrooms and legumes can collectively make a significant positive impact on the environment. Adopting batch cooking practices further supports sustainable eating by minimizing food waste and costs.