Is what we eat eco-friendly?

I went vegetarian for around 18 months when I was in my early 20s, but I had very little support from the people around me. This paired with some health problems, made me backtrack on my goal. What had inspired me to stop eating meat and fish was the realisation of how much farmed animals contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Although I failed at being a full-on vegetarian, I never quite went back to eating as many meat-products as I did before my aborted mission. I do really believe that, generally speaking, we eat too much meat - I know people who simply cannot put together a meal without chicken or ham. I eat meat on average once a week and I feel comfortable with that amount now.

This month many of you will have signed up to go vegan for January. This annual campaign is organised by charity Veganuary, which inspires people to try going vegan. Veganism is becoming increasingly popular, with athletes and people with certain allergies or disorders saying it is improving their overall health and wellbeing.

I never signed-up to it, however I do eat quite a lot of vegan meals. Coming from a very traditional background as far as cooking goes, I find it incredibly stimulating to try new recipes and flavours. I absolutely love eating and anything that can broaden my culinary horizon is a bonus. However, I have been thinking a lot about how to strike the right balance between my diet and making sure what I eat isn’t worse for the environment than eating a steak a day. For example, I never much liked dairy milk and I have been drinking non-dairy alternatives for over 10 years. But then I came across an article in The Guardian which explained that although the carbon created to produce a litre of semi-skimmed milk is much higher than that created to produce the equivalent of almond milk, almond plantations are destroying California (where 80 per cent of the world’s almonds are grown). It takes 6,098 litres to produce one litre of almond milk according to Pete Hemingway, of the Sustainable Restaurant Association. And if you think California has been in severe drought for years, you can just imagine the impact on the area. It seems oat milk would be a more sustainable non-dairy alternative. The other argument I have with my little brain is about air-miles. If I was to eat lots of things that simply cannot be grown in this country such as avocados or cashews, would I really be doing the world a favour? Probably not. However, local does not necessarily mean sustainable - it’s all about the intensity of farming. I don’t think there is a right or wrong in being omnivore, vegetarian or vegan, but I do think it’s important to understand how our lifestyle impacts on the environment.

Thanks to all those people who have been sending me their thoughts and suggestions for my column, keep them coming by writing to me at federica.bedendo@newsquest.co.uk.