This year we celebrate the 51st anniversary of Earth Day on April 22, started in 1970 to focus our attention on the health of our planet. Today, we face extreme environmental challenges, including a fast-warming planet, increasing droughts and potential massive loss of wildlife.
One of the most effective ways to help our planet is very simple -- eat more plant-based foods.
A 2009 report, “Livestock and Climate Change,” found that livestock production creates over 50% of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions -- more than all forms of transportation combined.
An extensive 2018 Oxford University study, “Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers,” found that a plant-based diet (a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of plant-based foods) is the single biggest way to reduce our environmental impact on the planet.
We all can be part of the solution by eating more plant foods and less animal products, such as filling half to three quarters of your plate with plants. Making such changes these days is easy, with most grocery stores stocked with plant-based alternatives to meat and dairy. And, many studies prove that the very best option for our health is to eat mostly healthy plant foods - vegetables, fruit, whole grains, beans, greens, nuts and seeds. As food author Michael Pollan said, ‘Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.”
Harriett Emerson, Salt Lake City
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