One Less Burger a Week

I am by no means an environmentalist. I recycle, I love nature but I know that I waste water and use too much plastic. I was floored however to see how much of an impact eating healthier can have on our environment. As I was looking at some research on decreasing saturated fat and how that impacts insulin resistance (Yes, I am a nerd that actually reads research in my field all of the time) I stumble across an article about eating to reduce your carbon footprint.

So here’s the deal. If you decrease your saturated fat intake (that’s the bad fat) by just one ¼ pound hamburger a week you will be taking a step toward better health. If every American decreased their intake by 1 ¼ pound hamburger a week it would be the same in reducing global emissions as taking an estimated 4-6 million cars off the road. I had to double check the source on that and it is actually true!

Of course, some of you will laugh but it can make a big impact on both health and the environment if we eat too much. If you don’t want to give up your beef, however, there are ways that we can still make a difference. Look for local farmers and buy your food from them! A typical American meal contains food that has been shipped from 5 different countries. If we support those farmers in our communities, we can make an impact on the environment, the economy & our health. The lesser the distance, the fresher the food, the fewer preservatives!