They will improve your health and lower your carbon footprint.
A new study identifies a few simple food swaps you can make that can have a big impact. The study, led by the Stanford University School of Medicine, suggests making exchanges like chicken instead of beef or choosing plant-based milk over dairy. These changes, if universally adopted, would reduce the dietary carbon footprint in the U.S. by more than 35 percent.
“Many people are concerned about climate change, but sweeping dietary change can be hard,” said lead author of the study Anna Grummon. “Instead, we’ve identified simple, achievable substitutions - small changes - that can still produce a meaningful impact.”
The researchers found that making exchanges of protein and mixed dishes had the most impact, with beef being by far the most powerful food to substitute. Other not-so-obvious swaps that can make a difference are chicken for pork, pork for lamb and salmon for crab.
The changes proposed by the study not only lead to a lower carbon footprint, but healthier eating habits. Diet shifts simulated in the study increased the USDA’s Healthy Eating Index by four to 10 percent. Higher scores on the index are associated with lower risk of heart disease, cancers and other health issues.
“It’s really a win-win,” Grummon said. “If you are a person who wants to make a dietary change for either health or environmental reasons and you make the changes that we propose, you’re likely to see the benefits you want.”