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According to a recent report by the University of Oxford\u2019s online open data repository Our World in Data<\/i>, food production is responsible for 26% of the world\u2019s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and \u201cwhat you eat is far more<\/i> important than where your food traveled from.\u201d Their report was based on the most extensive study of global food systems to date, published in 2018 in Science<\/i> by Joseph Poore and Thomas Nemecek. What the study showed is that food transport was responsible for only 6% of global food systems\u2019 emissions, while dairy, meat and egg production accounted for a whopping 83%. A kilogram of dairy cheese emits 21 kg of greenhouse gases, while tree nuts like cashews (which vegan cheese is often made from) emit just .3 kilogram CO<\/span>2<\/sup><\/span> per kg of product. Peas \u2014 the base of the popular Beyond Meat vegan patties\u2014 emit just .9 kilograms per kg, while beef creates a staggering 60 kilograms in emissions per pound of flesh. Even produce shipped at great distances (like avocados and almonds) still has much lower emissions than locally-produced animal products. <\/span><\/p>\n There is no argument that eating plants is far more efficient, not to mention more benevolent. Even still, it\u2019s important to be aware of the bigger picture \u2014 chocolate, coffee, palm oil and olive oil all have a high carbon footprint. As vegan climate scientist Shaina Rogstad points out, \u201cvegans should not feel like going vegan is the only action step they need to be taking.\u201d Another major action step? Reducing, or altogether eliminating, your waste.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cVeganism and climate justice are not separate issues,\u201d says Sharon Daraphonhdeth, director of the Student Environmental Resource Center (SERC) at UC Berkeley, and a long-time vegan. She recalls attending vegan conferences where food was served on disposable plates, and all trash went into a single stream waste bin. Halting the immense damage of rampant consumerism requires getting to the heart of the matter. \u201cConsumerism sends a message that you need to buy more because you\u2019re not enough, and you don\u2019t have enough, [which] leads to anxiety and lack of self-love,\u201d Daraphonhdeth says. \u201cIt is a large systemic and cultural issue [that] we need to uproot.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe majority of food that gets wasted is in our household,\u201d London-based YouTuber Immy Lucas, known as Sustainably Vegan, points out to LAIKA<\/em>. \u201cDoing simple things, like storing your leftovers correctly, making sure you go through your cupboards and your fridge and eat everything that\u2019s in there rather than going shopping and buying more and forgetting about the food [you already have] can have a huge impact.\u201d Food that is thrown out in plastic bags ends up in landfills, with devastating outcomes. A 2018 study by the nonprofit PLOS One<\/i> found that commonly-used plastics emit methane when exposed to sunlight. Polyethylene, the world\u2019s most discarded plastic and the one that billions of plastic bags are made from, releases the most greenhouses gasses.<\/span><\/p>\n One of Lucas\u2019 most popular initiatives with her audience is a two-week waste challenge during which participants are asked to chronicle any wasteful behaviors they engage in, like leaving on the lights or accumulating disposable packaging. \u201cIt helps you to understand what your habits are because it\u2019s very hard to reduce your waste if you don\u2019t actually know where you\u2019re wasting the most,\u201d she says. And Lucas practices what she preaches. She relies on her bike, eats the majority of her meals at home, or brings her own containers for leftovers whenever she eats out. She says she always refuses bags, napkins and takeout utensils\u2014\u201clittle accessory things that just add up over time.\u201d She buys unpackaged groceries, and only uses low waste beauty products or makes her own instead, like hair masks and deodorant.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n