About a month and a half ago, we received the news that Earth will go up in flames by 2030 unless some drastic changes are made.
So in the interest of slowing down our inevitable doom by 30%, I made a drastic change: I decided to go vegetarian. A study of the environmental impact of food revealed that even the lowest-impact animal products like eggs and farmed fish are more harmful to the Earth than vegetables. Beef is the worst food product for the environment by far, contributing a shocking 105kg of greenhouse gases per 100g of meat. Tofu, in comparison, only produces 3.5kg of greenhouse gases per 100g.
It’s clear that cutting, or even reducing meat from our diets can go a long way in alleviating climate change. The only problem now is sticking to a vegetarian diet, which is surprisingly not as difficult as it sounds. Here are 3 easy steps to going vegetarian.
1) Find protein substitutes
One of the biggest problems I faced when I started cutting out meats was finding protein. It’s extremely important that you don’t start living purely on rabbit food overnight, because a lack of protein causes loss of muscle mass, poor wound healing, and – brace yourselves – hair loss.
Thankfully, there are lots of plant-based products that have good amount of protein. Tofu is an easy and obvious choice – it’s versatile, almost has a similar texture to meat, and tastes great with just about anything. Beans and lentils also work well, which for me meant lots of burritos. You could also try cooking more spinach and kale, or replacing your carbs with quinoa every once in a while.
It’s also important to remember that you can still have animal products, as long as they’re not meats. This makes life a lot easier for you, because eggs and milk are also full of protein, and more importantly because you won’t have to miss out on brunch.
2) Find recipes and get cooking
If you haven’t used the kitchen for anything other than tea and cereal, now’s the time to start cooking. London is quite a vegetarian and vegan-friendly city, but even if you can find something to eat almost anywhere, it still kind of sucks that you’re limited to just a couple of choices on the menu. Cooking your own meals expands your options drastically because what you eat is limited only by your creativity.
Creativity does run out though, especially if, like me, you’re not familiar with the ins and outs of cooking with beans and lentils. In this situation, Google once again comes to the rescue and presents a huge list of recipes that encompass all cuisines, cultures, and culinary abilities (or lack thereof). Give it a couple of tries and soon you’ll be whipping up a pot of chickpea curry or tofu stir-fry like a pro!
3) (Try to) get friends to join you
We’ve all heard the classic line of “if all your friends jump off a bridge, are you going to jump too?” Well in this case, peer pressure might just be put to good use. Having friends around who are vegetarian too makes going out to eat so much easier because you’ll choose places that have more than one meat free option, and you don’t have to be the friend that stops everyone from going to that amazing burger place.
You’re also more likely to stick to your vegetarian lifestyle for longer if you’ve got somebody to help keep you on the straight and narrow. I’m not going to lie – being a vegetarian isn’t difficult, but it isn’t easy either. I haven’t found anything that comes close to a good steak or rashers of bacon. I’m just grateful that I took on vegetarianism with a friend, because the solidarity of having someone else to gaze wistfully at chicken wings and Sunday Roast menus with is probably one of the biggest reasons I haven’t folded yet.