Category: Diet


  • The carbon footprint of fish

    Fish can be part of a healthy, low emissions diet. It is a good substitute for meat with high emissions, such as beef and lamb, and a good source of protein. But there are issues to consider when choosing which fish to eat. The problem of over-fishing affects the population of some species, and some…

  • Sandwiches and their carbon footprint

    It is lunchtime, and you are going to pick a sandwich from the nearest coffee shop. Which sandwich should you pick if you want to lower your carbon footprint? You probably think that a vegetarian sandwich is always a better option than one with meat. But this is not always the case. Sandwiches and cheese…

  • Eat seasonally to reduce carbon footprint

    Where our food comes from can greatly change the carbon footprint of our dish. Although it is more important what we eat rather than where it comes from, it is worth considering that using certain fruit and vegetables can significantly increase the carbon emissions of our meals at certain times of the year. This is…

  • Treat cheese like a meat

    Eating less meat is a route to reducing your carbon footprint. Cutting it out altogether can reduce your carbon footprint by 1 ton a year. But there is an exception is this argument. A vegetarian meal is not automatically better for the environment if it contains lots of cheese. Cheese contains cow’s milk. Dairy cows…

  • Myth busting: Organic food

    Do you need to buy expensive organic food to be eco-friendly? The answer is NO. This is a big myth that needs dispelling. First, it is not clear why organic food is ‘eco-friendly’. Second it is usually significantly more expensive than food that is not organic and does not last as long. No wonder people…

  • Choosing a takeaway Indian curry

    An Indian takeaway is one of the most popular takeaways to have in Britain. So, how can we reduce carbon emissions when ordering Indian food? Research by Mike Berners-Lee book ‘How Bad are Bananas?’ shows how the carbon footprint changes as you add different ingredients to an Indian dish. Indian curries and meat As with…

  • Choosing a takeaway pizza

    Choosing a takeaway pizza Everyone loves a pizza and its one of the most popular takeaways around the world. But how can you choose a pizza and keep down your carbon footprint? Pizza and cheese One thing to think about when choosing a pizza is the amount of cheese that is on a pizza. Mike…

  • Beer and wine: which has less carbon emissions?

    Beer and wine are the most popular alcoholic drinks. In the UK, 68 litres of beer and 11.88 bottles of wine were drunk per person in 2022 in the UK. So how do carbon emissions compare between beer and wine? Research by Professor Bridle from Universit of York shows beer and wine as a drink…

  • Tea or coffee?

    Tea or coffee?

    Which one has more carbon emissions? Tea and coffee are amongst the most popular drinks consumed across the world. Around 2 billion cups of coffee and 5 billion cups of tea are drunk everyday worldwide. If you are indifferent between drinking either of the drinks, choose tea over coffee because tea has lower carbon emissions.…

  • Carbon emission reducing snacks

    Carbon emission reducing snacks What snacks should you eat if you want to reduce your carbon footprint? Professor Bridle’s book ‘Food and climate change without the hot air’ analyses typical snacks we eat and suggest ways we can make small changes in our snacks to change our footprint. Chocolate Chocolate bars will vary in their…