Eat more veggies
Changing your diet even slightly can have a big impact on your own health and the health of the planet. One way we can help the environment while also improving our own health is to eat more veggies!
Eating more veggies doesn’t have to mean giving up meat. Even reducing your weekly meat consumption by the equivalent of 1 burger or 2 pieces of chicken is enough to make an impact over your lifetime.
Key Benefits
Health is the biggest reason people are shifting to a more plant-based diet. By simply reducing your meat consumption, you can lower your risk of numerous chronic illnesses including heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.
Less Meat = More Savings. It turns out you can save nearly $750 a year by eating more fruits, vegetables and grains.
Americans consume almost 4 times the beef per capita as the global average. Beef is one of the most greenhouse gas intensive proteins in the world. Reducing animal food intake and mostly eating plant-based foods will greatly help reduce our country’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Resources
Explore the blogs and social media accounts below, or head to your local library to flip through some veggie-forward cookbooks. Ask your friends what their favorite veggie-forward recipes are, too! Check out these blogs:
Below are some essays and articles from America’s top medical institutions about the importance of plant-rich eating.
Tips & Ideas
Try 1 meatless recipe a week
There are so many great resources that offer plant-rich recipes. Some places to start might include Mark Bittman’s site, Smitten Kitchen, and Veggie Soul Food.
Make it a friendly competition
Practice your cooking skills and try new recipes by hosting a cooking competition amongst friends. Or, compete to see who can commit to most meatless meals: having a partner will help hold you accountable and increase the likelihood of success.
Go local
Buy from small regional agriculture where you can find sustainably grown produce and ethically raised meat. You can check your local food co-ops, health food stores and farmers markets.
Try new popular new meat substitutes.
With so many new brands available in store shelves, try substituting one of the many plant-based meat options instead of meat in one of your favorite recipes, such as lasagna, enchiladas, or chili.