We can all acknowledge climate change exists. The effects can be seen globally; from visible air pollution in China to our very own polar vortex pressing up central United States. The United Nations predicted by 2030 these effects will become irreversible, meaning it’s time for a change.
You know about car emissions, food waste, deforestation, the works. If you try to pick up a plastic straw at Dunkin you will probably receive a few angry glares. But there are thousands of other ways our small daily habits can help slow climate change. If you were looking for any other reason to push you toward maintaining your New Year’s resolution of a healthier diet, here’s your sign.
In 2018, the Keto Diet took over the whole nation. Thousands of people jumped on this new fad, endorsed by celebrities including Kim Kardashian, Halle Berry, Megan Fox, and even Tim Tebow. The ketogenic diet encourages its followers to maximize healthy fat intakes while minimizing carbohydrate intake to below 5% of a person’s daily calories. The fad caught trend as it allowed its followers to still enjoy foods such as bacon, cheese, and everyone’s favorite: avocadoes. While the country took part in this new diet, little did they know they were helping the environment.
Let’s break this down. It is not not an unknown fact that carbohydrates make you.. well, visit the porcelain throne. All the fiber you will be missing from your multigrain bread will force your body to condense and conserve its waste (did I really just write that?). Similarly, eating less food produces less waste.
How does all of this relate to the environment? Well the more waste you produce, and we are not talking food waste anymore, the more our sewage systems have to manage. The more they manage, the more energy, usually in the form of fossil fuels, they have to use to do whatever sewage plants do with all our shit (pun intended). By cutting down your time on the throne, you are actually removing some excess waste from this Earth (go you!). Like voting, this may seem irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. That brings us back to the keto diet. Thousands of people took part of this diet. That means if their end results (still following these euphemisms?) reduced from daily to every other day, at least 500 units of sewage did not have to be treated. Less sewage, less energy. Less energy, less carbon emissions. And we are back to the beginning.
Now, of course, I am not telling you to stop eating food all together in spirit of saving the Earth. My own bio says I love eating food and I am not willing to give that up. I am just offering you a new incentive to keep to that dreadful diet. And hopefully, make you laugh along the way.