Plant-Based Eating
With “Veganuary” several months behind us, you may be wondering why so many plant-based meals have disappeared off of your Instagram feed. Plenty of celebrities—including former EMA Impact attendees Mayim Bialik and Alicia Silverstone— took part in Veganuary, and influenced people to give plant-based cooking a try. This January, over 400,000 people across the world took to social media to kickstart their year with a plant-based diet for the month, and that in that month alone, participants prevented the carbon dioxide equivalent of over 450,000 flights from entering the atmosphere and saved the lives of more than one million animals.
Just because January is over doesn’t mean that you have to stop incorporating plant-based meals into your diet. At the Environmental Media Association, we’re challenging our network, and yes, you, to post your favorite plant-based recipe to Instagram! We want our feeds to be full of your delicious, environmentally sustainable food. Here’s why:
Plant-based eating isn’t all or nothing.
You don’t have to ditch animal products completely to make an impact. Harvard University states that plant-based eating “includes not only fruits and vegetables, but also nuts, seeds, oils, whole grains, legumes, and beans. It doesn’t mean that you are vegetarian or vegan and never eat meat or dairy. Rather, you are proportionately choosing more of your foods from plant sources.” Whether you’re having a meatless Monday or just trying out a new vegan recipe, we want to see your recipes! Post a photo or video and tag us on Instagram @Green4EMA and use the hashtags #environmentalmedianetwork and #plantbasedquarantine so we can share the joy of plant-based cooking and inspire others!
Science says that less meat consumption is what the environment needs.
An Oxford study found that avoiding meat and dairy is the single biggest way to reduce your impact on Earth’ since animal farming provides 18% of calories while taking up 83% of farmland. Diets high in meat yield other negative environmental impacts, such as higher carbon footprints, biodiversity loss, and water and air pollution. On the flip side, twenty servings of vegetables have fewer greenhouse gas emissions than one serving of beef. Pass the veggies, please!
Plant-based meals are better for you.
Feeling a little bit tired lately? We are too. Luckily, it turns out that plant-based eating can lead to an increase in energy, among other health benefits such as preventing diabetes and lowering the risk of heart disease. Balanced plant-based meals are higher in complex carbohydrates and fiber; eating less meat translates to your body spending less energy on processing animal products and having more energy for you to use in your daily life.
There are so many options.
From cookbooks, to Youtube videos, and even our very own Instagram, the glory of plant-based eating is taking over our world, and we’re happy about it. Most supermarkets are plentiful with alternative milks (almond, soy, macadamia, oat, and oh, so many more…) and faux-meats that make swapping in plant-based foods easier than ever before. Give them a try, and let us know what you think!
We think it’s time you join EMA Board Members Malin Akerman, Lance Bass, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Linda Phan & Drew Scott, and the rest of the EMA Board in cooking more plant-based meals. Share the plant-based deliciousness, and we’ll do the reposting!