Leaner is Greener

A lot of people kick off the New Year and head to the gym with firm resolve to lose weight and get fit.   I’m one of them.  In recent years, I’ve given more thought to weight loss and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and more specifically how our fondness for meat is a major factor in global emissions.   Green office teams can tie in to health and safety units’ promotion of healthy lifestyles, weight loss clinics, and double the savings of pounds and greenhouse gases by making information available to employees on the advantages to health and the environment when we cut down on the amounts of certain foods, particularly beef. 

Google “obesity and greenhouse gases” and you’ll find plenty of “food for thought” about the harmful effects that raising animals and eating them have on our environment and state of health.  I read one startling fact in Scientific American that eating a hamburger patty is the ghg emissions equivalent of driving a car for 10 miles.  Many of the articles have a common theme and prescriptive—eat less meat.  And more than a few attempt to persuade the reader to become a vegetarian.  Today’s blog isn’t about telling anybody else what to eat, but in the spirit of honoring my New Year’s intention, I found this list of 5 dietary principles from Livewell to be worth clipping to my refrigerator:

1) Eat more plants - enjoy fruit and vegetables 

2) Waste less food - up to 30% of what is brought home is wasted

3) Eat less meat - Meat, be it red or white, can be a tasty complement rather than just a center piece of a good meal

4) Eat less processed food - as they tend to be more resource intensive to produce and often contain high levels of sugar, fat and salt

5) Eat certified food - buy food that meets a credible certified standard - like MSC for fish or RSPO for palm oil or RSPCA Freedom Foods for meat and eggs. (These are UK certifications.  In the US, to be certified organic approximately means a product has met the standards of the USDA and is certified by a state, federal, or third-party independent organization that adheres to USDA standards.  Learn more by clicking here.) 

I live in a city where we have a good selection of organic food products and fresh produce in our supermarkets and specialty stores.  In the spring and summer months, we have an abundance of farmers’ markets held in parks and mall parking lots.  Consider making information available on your Intranet websites on where employees can find organic foods.  

Another idea is for green teams to partner with health and safety units to sponsor a pledge campaign that invites employees to volunteer to give up eating meat one day a week.  Or organize an office weight loss campaign and encourage employees to volunteer to weigh in weekly.  At the end of the campaign, host a party to celebrate the collective savings of pounds and greenhouse gases.