I’m not a perfect role model for a healthy or sustainable diet. I know I should eat more fruits and veggies and less red meat. Once, a climate team colleague reporting on the massive greenhouse emissions that come from beef emphatically told me: "Cows are the coal of food.
” But it's been hard to put that knowledge into practice. My brain and stomach are wired to expect meat and a side in every meal. I still make my grandmother’s picadillo recipe and my mom’s meatballs.
And I have to confess: While thinking about all those beef emissions while reporting this column, I caved in to an irresistible craving for a hamburger. So I was reassured to learn from a team of respected scientists that you don’t have to quit meat cold turkey to help the planet and improve your own health. You don’t even have to swear off burgers.
The biggest change most people would have to make is eating some more legumes, nuts and whole grains. That’s according to a team of medical researchers, environmental scientists and policy experts who crafted a loose set of food guidelines they call the "Planetary Health Diet.” If everyone ate this way, scientists say it would shave about 5 percent off global greenhouse emissions and prevent more than 7 million premature deaths per year from illnesses such as heart disease and diabetes.
"If consumers were to adjust their diet ...
that would have huge implications on carbon emissions and climate change,” said Klaus Hubacek, a Dutch environmental sci.