Vegans, Palm Oil, Soy Products, and Almonds -- Oh My!

If you're paying any attention at all, you've heard that hectares of rainforests are being razed to produce palm oil and soybeans, and gallons of water expended on almonds, and if you're a vegan, you might be wondering what's left to eat.

It takes a little over a gallon of water to produce just one almond, according to this graphic, which translates into a shocking 400 gallons of water per pound.

from Mother Jones

Shocking, that is, until you realize that it takes 1799 gallons of water to produce a pound of beef. 

How about soybeans? Aren't the vegans responsible for that deforestation? After all, no one else could possibly be interested in eating tofu, right? Well, it turns out that 70 percent of the soy beans grown world-wide are fed to animals. Tofu? Six percent. And the rest, soybean oil, which is used in mayonnaise, baked goods, barbecue sauce, and salad dressing. The vegans are probably eating some of the soybean oil, it's true.

Palm oil, meanwhile, is in something like half of the products you can buy in a supermarket, including soap and shampoo, ice cream and pizza dough, and -- yes, margarine and soy cheese. 

So it's true, it would be better (not to mention healthier) to eat your grits with olive oil instead of palm-oil-laced margarine, and to eat traditionally prepared and simple foods made from unrefined beans and grains instead of highly processed soy cheeses and tofu pups. 

But the six percent of Americans who identify as vegan still have a far lower impact on the planet than those who eat beef or pork every day. 

Meanwhile, you don't need to go completely vegan, or even vegetarian to save the planet. 

To mitigate the impact of your diet on climate change, start by eliminating food waste. The average American family throws away 33 pounds of food every month. Eat everything you buy in the supermarket or order in a restaurant. Bring leftovers home for lunch later in the week. Buy groceries with a plan to make sure you'll be able to cook everything you bring home.

Next up: reduce your beef intake. Pork and chicken are lower in impact than beef and lamb, but peanut butter and lentils have a fraction of the impact. 

from the Washington Post

You'll also do your arteries a favor if you use meat for flavor most days, and only make it a main dish once or twice a week.

The bottom line: worry about the soybeans and palm kernels that are being fed to cows. Don't worry too much about the ones you're consuming directly. Become a demitarian and don't let the leftovers rot in the fridge.

One Cheeseburger At A Time

Blitz's meat calculator will tell you how many pigs and chickens and cows you eat every year based on weekly meat consumption, and will tell you how many animals you can "save" if you switch some of your meals to vegetarian.

According to the calculator, if you're an average American you'll eat two pigs, two-thirds of a cow, and 289 chickens in the next ten years. If you reduce your meat consumption by even ten percent, that adds up to half a pig, a calf, and 29 chickens.

For the environment, what matters more than the lives of the animals is the resources used to produce them, including petroleum, water, and antibiotics.

The difference between a vegetarian diet and a meat-eating one, over ten years, is 18,000 pounds of carbon dioxide and 238,810 gallons of water. Think about California droughts and wildfires in that context.

Plus, one cow releases somewhere between 70 and 120 kg of methane a year, and methane is 25 times as powerful in causing climate change than CO2. Reducing your impact doesn't have to mean going vegan; swapping out one cheeseburger a week for pasta primavera or even a chicken sandwich will make a difference.

How to Eat Less Meat

Last week, I wrote that in order to lower your environmental impact, one thing you can do is eat less meat.

If you're thinking that's a good idea, but you're not sure how or whether it's healthy, I'm going to try to answer some potential questions.

How will I get enough protein?

Research about how much protein we need is on-going. Many nutritionists think that most Americans get more protein than they need. But some scientists think more protein is better, as long as it's not meat protein.

The most recent government nutrition guidelines switched from a pyramid to a plate. Half the plate contains fruit and vegetables, the other half whole grains and protein foods. If you're trying to limit meat, veggie burgers and tofu pups are one option, but it's good to mix them up with less processed foods. In any case, it's easy to get plenty of protein from beans, legumes, and nuts.

Back in the 1970s, people believed that vegans had to combine grains and legumes in carefully complementary proportions at every meal to get "complete" proteins. That idea still floats around, though it's been debunked; what vegans need is to eat a variety of different foods across several days to a week. But that's a good idea for everyone.

If you're cutting back on meat, you should think about what you're replacing those calories with. Switching from bacon and eggs to poptarts for breakfast? Probably not a great idea. A bowl of cereal with dried fruit, nuts, and seeds or a couple of pieces of toast with nut butter and sliced bananas would be healthier options.

I feel best on a diet of beans and legumes with lots of greens, and a little bit of whole grains and fruit. But everyone is different. If you cut back on meat without adding other sources of protein, you might find that you get hungry more often; in that case, you might need to make more of an effort to include plant-based proteins in your diet.

The important thing is to find some options that you like. Google "vegan recipes" and make a commitment to yourself to try out one new recipe a month. Or one a week, if you're feeling energetic about it.

Is it healthy?

It's well established that plant-based diets are healthier than diets heavy in meat, and reduce risk for heart attack and stroke, type 2 diabetes, inflammatory disease, and some cancers.

If you cut back on meat and dairy products, but don't cut them out entirely, and replace them with vegetable proteins and whole grains and vegetables, you don't have to worry about anything else.

If you completely cut out animal products, you need to pay attention to your intake of vitamin B12, because deficiency can lead to anemia or nerve damage. Nutritional yeast is one of the only plant sources. Soy milk and cereal and a lot of other foods are fortified with vitamin B12, so if you're eating plenty of those, you could be fine, but pay attention and consider a supplement.

You might also worry about getting enough calcium. Dairy industry advertising implies that you have to drink milk, but there are plant sources as well. Eating meat seems to increase our need for calcium, so vegans might not need as much.  It's in fortified soy products, collard greens, kale, tofu that's been coagulated with calcium sulfate (check the label), and various other greens and legumes. Or you can cover your bets by taking a supplement.

Iron is another potential concern. Cook in a cast iron pan and you'll be fine.

Will it cost me money?

If you buy a lot of faux meat products, maybe. Non-dairy milk substitutes are often more expensive than regular milk, unless you're buying organic milk. Food prices vary widely depending on seasonal availability and where you live.

But right now, the cheapest ground beef from Fresh Direct (which delivers groceries in New York City) is $3.99 a pound. A pound of pinto beans at $2.39 is good for 12 servings; a 15.5 ounce can of cooked pinto beans (3.5 servings) is 99 cents. You can do the math.

How can you tell if someone is vegan?

They'll tell you.