Eat well, do good: why choosing a plant-based diet is healthier for you and the planet

By Dawn Byford and Kris Cameron, Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group (ESRAG) Plant-Rich Diet Task Force co-chairs

If you knew there was one action you could take right now that supported all Rotary areas of focus, met the Four-Way Test, and addressed nearly every major environmental crisis facing us, would you take it?

The Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group Plant-Rich Diet Task Force was formed in 2021 to inform, inspire, and encourage Rotary members and others around the globe to modify their diets to include more low-carbon plant foods and fewer high-carbon animal products. Adopting a whole food plant-rich diet has enormous benefits for the planet, human health, and animal welfare, and aligns with our Rotary values. Reducing our consumption of animal products has the potential to lower our individual carbon footprints by up to 75%.

When discussing climate change in particular, our industrialized food systems, particularly animal agriculture and commercial fishing practices, are often overlooked, yet contribute more to global greenhouse gas emissions than all forms of transportation combined. Industrial animal agriculture is widely held to be the biggest contributor to tropical deforestation and biodiversity loss, uses the majority of global land area and freshwater resources, and is a major polluter of both air and water.

Eating more plants also helps restore marine biodiversity and repair the catastrophic damage done to our life-sustaining oceans due to overfishing, abandoned fishing gear, bycatch, and bottom trawling. Commercial fishing is responsible for more annual greenhouse gas emissions than the entire aviation industry.

Plant-rich diets have enormous benefits for human health as well. They are credited with preventing and sometimes even reversing many chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. The majority of antibiotics in the world are administered to animals on factory farms and this contributes to antibiotic resistance. Factory farms have been identified as a breeding ground for contagious diseases and pandemics, such as avian flu.

Individually:

As Rotary members, we can harness the power of our plates to create a win-win situation for the planet and our own health. Incorporating more whole plant foods into our meals is inexpensive, immediate, impactful, and easier than you think. Here are some suggestions to help get started.

1. Use plant-milk in your coffee or favorite beverage.

2. Reduce the size of your meat portions.

3. Eat one plant-based meal a day or one day a week.

4. Educate yourself about the impacts of diet on climate and health. Watch eye-opening documentaries such as Forks Over Knives, Eating Our Way to Extinction, Cowspiracy, Seaspiracy, or The Game Changers. Host a watch party with your friends!

5. Take the ESRAG 15 Day Plant-Rich Diet Challenge! The Challenge is an online guided journey toward better personal and planetary health, that you can take individually at your own pace, or in a group with others. It is a delicious way to learn about how to help the planet and enjoy tremendous health benefits along the way. Register to start your journey.

In your club:

Here are some actions that clubs around the world have taken to become more climate friendly through food. Your club can too!

1. Work with your meeting venue to offer a plant-based meal option at every weekly meeting. Having this option can be a positive factor in new member recruitment and creating an inclusive atmosphere.

2. Make sure all of your event venues offer plant-based entree options. The ESRAG Green Events Handbook is a helpful resource.

3. Host a plant-powered club and/or community potluck. Experts and beginners alike appreciate having the opportunity to learn and share with one another about plant-based eating.

4. Host documentary screenings with plant-based buffets, food tastings, and sign-ups for the ESRAG 15 Day Plant-Rich Diet Challenge.

The ESRAG Plant-Rich Diet Task Force stands ready to help individuals, clubs, and districts reduce their environmental impact and improve human health through healthier dietary choices. Our webpage is loaded with helpful resources, and you can reach us at plantrich@esrag.org. Like us on Facebook or Instagram.

“Each step, no matter how small, makes a difference, and these often lead to more steps. By changing our food, we can change the world.” - Gene Baur, author and activist

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Service in Action