Small Diet Changes Can Save Our Future

It’s 2019 and we are in a climate crisis. With the rise of the Extinction Rebellion and important role models such as Greta Thunberg, most people are all trying to do their bit to help; whether it be recycling more, cutting out plastic use or changing their diet.

I am a 20-year-old, female student, with little money and a lot of fear for my future. I have cut down my use of plastic drastically and I care a lot for recycling. But even with all this, I still can’t help but feel the guilt. The guilt that it is not enough.

I heard a lot about how vegan and vegetarian diets can help save the planet: An article in The Guardian stated that “A plant-based diet cuts the use of land by 76% and halves the greenhouse gases and other pollution that are caused by food production.” Not only is it in the news, it’s on the lips of many celebrities too, one being Lewis Hamilton, who owns his own vegan restaurant and recently sold his private jet to reduce his carbon footprint. With these controversial ‘V’ words being thrown around, I decided to trial it.

I have grown up in a family who have been against a plant-based lifestyle, and I have always eaten meat. But until colossal companies who are responsible for the earth’s atmosphere going to shit take control of their own actions, I, one feeble student have joined the resistance, switching all meat products to Quorn and plant-based substitutes. 

I have been so pleasantly surprised.

My weekly shop now feels almost exciting as I try new meals and new ways to cook, and despite the myths, all for around the same price as my previous shop filled with livestock produce. Although I am still far off being vegan, I decided to switch my weekly carton of milk to soya instead, as I’d heard awful things about the dairy industry, and it would be another item in my trolley to help the planet.

Since beginning this lifestyle change, I’ve been hit with all the classic questions: “Won’t you get ill?”, “Why on earth do you want to do this?” and everyone’s favourite, “Don’t you miss bacon?”. It’s tiring, and sadly you must learn to put up with it. It won’t go away, not just yet anyway. I haven’t missed meat as much as I thought I would and my diet is not making me ill, it makes me feel proud that I’m just doing one little thing that can help make a change. I may just be one person but millions of people thinking of themselves as ‘just one person who won’t make a difference’ is what is killing us. Small changes made by many people make for big change in the long run, and we all must remember this. 

Don’t get me wrong, it hasn’t been completely easy. I have gone out for meals and felt deflated by the lack of meat-free options, caved in and got something that had chicken in it. I have had milkshakes and hot chocolates and forgot to ask for soya milk and yes, I do feel guilty, but I will get there eventually. The worst part is, the responsibility to save the planet should not be on me or regular working class people, it should be on the huge corporations spilling oil into the sea and causing masses of plastic pollution and failing to do anything to change it, it’s also on the millionaires and billionaires to use there privilege of money to dig in and help by funding organisations and charities which can make a difference, but these things aren’t happening, at least not enough, I shouldn’t be feeling the guilt.

The reality is, we all need to need to get over the fear, this idea that vegan and vegetarian diets are dangerous or weird. I had to face this, I had to educate myself and look to people who were already living these lifestyles and see that all their limbs were still intact, and they weren’t bright yellow or covered in purple spots. We need to eliminate the pressure to be perfect too; when it comes to climate change, we are all hypocrites and that’s okay. Cutting down meat animal by animal is a system that might work for some people and it still makes a difference, or just think if millions of families had one meal a week where they ate something vegan and the impact that could have. Small changes are better than no changes.