A guide to climate-friendly eating

We have to eat, that much is clear. But the food we choose to eat every day has a huge impact on our planet. We want to break down how you can eat in a climate-friendly way, whether cows really are climate killers, and whether organic food is the better choice.

What marked the beginning of the downfall of humankind? According to Yuval Noah Harari, a Hebrew professor of history, it was the development of agriculture. This led to the emergence of property ownership and, as a result, a system of rulers and elites (source: A Brief History of Humankind is a non-fiction book by Yuval Noah Harari).

If agriculture is the root of all evil, could a new type of agriculture be the key to a sustainable future?

Land use, agriculture, and forestry are responsible for approximately 23 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions (methane emissions, CO₂ emissions, nitrous oxide emissions). If we include total food production (plus upstream and downstream processes involved in food production and land use changes such as deforestation), the figure rises to as much as 37 percent! (IPCC Special Report, August 2019) – making it the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions.

At the same time, agriculture suffers most from global warming. Even in Austria, according to AGES 2018, a further 3 degrees of warming would significantly shift rainfall patterns and lead to increased droughts. In the Marchfeld region, crop losses of up to 50 percent would be expected, putting the food supply at risk.

Austria is already dependent on food and feed imports. The country imports approximately 550,000 tons of soy per year (AGES 2015), which corresponds to an external land requirement of approximately 166,700 hectares. Approximately one third of the soy comes from Brazil, one third from Argentina, and one third from the USA. In addition, 75 percent of the imported feed soy from overseas is genetically modified.

During the 2019 Austrian election campaign, the SPÖ leadership tweeted: "Schnitzel must not become a luxury!" They were railing against a possible meat tax and trying to appease voters who were afraid of losing their schnitzel for climate protection reasons.

But I ask you, were you among those who criticized Bolsonaro this summer for allowing the forest fires in Brazil? Then remember the soy imports for Austrian animal fattening. And consider that your regular schnitzel requires an area in Brazil larger than Vienna, where jaguars, hummingbirds, etc. once roamed.

You don't have to become vegan, but ask where the feed came from. The Prüf Nach! standard has the strictest guidelines in Austria, requiring 100 percent domestic feed (authentic regionality). The following products, for example, comply with these regulations Zurück zum Ursprung organic products at HOFER or the meat products in the organic cafeterias.

If only domestic feed were used, that would also spell the end of factory farming! Austria simply does not have enough land to produce sausage, meat, milk, and eggs every day. What would be the benefit for the animals? How delicious would that long-awaited schnitzel made from organic pork taste?

In January 2019, the Lancet Commission attracted attention with the publication of the planetary health diet, a diet that is both environmentally friendly and healthy. The proposed diet consists mainly of vegetables, dairy products, whole grains, fruit, legumes, healthy oils, and fats. Only 43 g of meat (poultry and red meat) per day are allowed, which equates to 301 g per week.

Critics accuse publishers of being biased because many of them are vegans or even animal rights activists. I cannot understand this argument, because isn't it logical that I practice the lifestyle that I consider beneficial for the world? Is a study by non-smokers on the harmfulness of tobacco less credible than one by smokers?

Cows constantly burp methane, which is up to 33 times more harmful to the climate than_CO2. In fact, 9.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions can be attributed to cattle. Nevertheless, it is scientifically questionable to reduce a cow to its methane emissions alone.

Ruminants play an important role in world history: grasslands are huge carbon sinks, and they were created by the coexistence of grasses and ruminants. Grazing causes grasses to form a large root mass, which stores carbon in the soil, while the excrement of ruminants provides the soil with nutrients. This is a wonderful interaction of nature, the preservation of which is of great importance for biodiversity, soils, and the climate.

If, on the other hand, a cow is kept in a barn and fed concentrated feed (corn, soy, grain), it is unfortunately completely lost. Unused grassland is usually built on, turned into steppe, or plowed up to become farmland. This in turn leads to the degradation of humus and possibly the leaching of nitrates, which is associated with nitrous oxide and_{CO2 emissions}. That is why Prüf Nach! requires all ruminants (cattle, goats, sheep) to be kept on pasture, because extensive grassland must be preserved at all costs.

Studies are repeatedly published claiming that maximizing performance and yield is the best way to achieve climate-friendly agriculture. If more is produced on a small area, the land that is freed up can be reforested, for example. Therefore, organic farming, which yields less per hectare, is said to be harmful to the climate.

Unfortunately, maximization usually means intensification, which is only possible with synthetic chemical pesticides and artificial fertilizers or the overbreeding and exploitation of animals. Fortunately, however, there are already sustainable approaches and alternatives to this, such as circular economy, permaculture, and mixed cropping. (Climate-friendly agriculture: how it's done)

(Scientific background information on the climate impact of organic farming can be found at: Is organic farming a climate killer?)

And now we come full circle: if agriculture was the root of all evil, could sustainable, communal agriculture be the source of a new way of living together? For thousands of years, humans treated resources with care, as they were the life insurance of their descendants. The Iroquois even asked themselves whether their actions would benefit their descendants seven generations into the future.

When we start viewing food as a valuable commodity again, rather than a disposable product or something purely for survival, this appreciation will carry over into other areas. The phrase "you are what you eat" sums this up perfectly.

The move towards a climate-friendly diet is certainly one of the most effective ways to fundamentally change your lifestyle. And it is one of the most rewarding, because it is associated with wonderful enjoyment! What an experience, what an explosion for the taste buds when they get to experience sustainable food.

How wonderful freshly cooked food tastes compared to fast food. How intense is the flavor of rare sun-ripened tomatoes in summer compared to standard greenhouse tomatoes in winter?

With this in mind, enjoy your climate-friendly diet!

About the author

Dr. Isabell Riedl has been working as a sustainability officer and in communications at Werner Lampert GmbH since 2012. She studied ecology with a focus on nature and landscape conservation and tropical ecology at the University of Vienna. She wrote her dissertation on the importance of tree rows in agricultural areas for forest birds in Costa Rica. Throughout her life, she has been particularly committed to ecological sustainability. She is part of the editorial team of the online magazine "Nachhaltigkeit. Rethink."

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