#3: Regulartarian Diet

#4: Regulartarian Diet (Or Plant Based… if you can!)

Challenge Time: Set up 30~mins, then ongoing
Effectiveness: HIGH IMPACT: 0.8 tonne~ CO₂e reduction for Plant Based Diet
Question: Are you an extremist?
Benefits: Physical, Mental, Financial, Reduced Water Scarcity
Result: Win/Win

So, are you… a FOOD EXTREMIST !?!?!?

Turns out you might be, even though it might not feel like it!
There’s lots of ‘tribal’ feelings around ‘vegans’ v ‘carnivores’, but what if you could be somewhere in the middle?
Maybe it’s time to consider a ‘regulartarian’ diet?

This is fantastic! I’m going to share it with my team. It’s great info in a really accessible format - Professor Felice Jacka OAM

’Indeed amazing’ - Dr Diana Bogueva

Straight up, this challenge is a fairly maths based approach to emissions, and doesn’t really take into account other issues such as animal welfare which you may also like to consider.

1/3rd of emissions, it’s official.

We hear about food’s impact on the climate, but is it really a big deal? Turns out it is, ⅓ of greenhouse gas emissions is a LOT.
Some foods use a lot more water and resources while others require land clearing. Processed foods use a lot more refining, mixing, baking, freezing etc, while others need lots of packaging and transport.

Hmmm, ok, a fair bit to consider here… so what foods?

Dammit! Choccies too!?

Ok we’d kinda heard about meats, turns out even eating choccies could be carbon intensive, dammit! Maybe it is time to switch to those Palm Oil Free Darryl Lee choccies? Maybe it is time to switch to a cheese and beer diet?… just joking please don’t do that, ha, will be terrible for your health! Young Henry’s are doing good things though. More food footprints here.

The CSIRO Says that they ‘have consistently found that eating to meet your needs and reducing unhealthy 'junk' foods would have the largest impact on reducing Australia's dietary environmental footprint.’

Ok then, so how are we faring in Australia? Where do we need to cut back?

Australians are EXTREMISTS

Ok, we really are on the extreme end of things here… more than almost every other country… in the world! If you’re an Australian, you’re an extremist!

In fact…

Australians eat 1.7kgs of meat per week!

Yeah ok, that does seem like an extreme amount. Maybe in this vegans vs carnivores war some of us Australians have been tricked into eating far more meat than we should…? Maybe we got a bit too tribal. Maybe we need to chill out on the whole vegans vs carnivores thing? Hmmm…

Ok, so eating excessive meats is bad for the planet, but what if it’s healthy…? Turns out Australians are eating less meat because it is really unhealthy - 42% of Australians were eating less or no meat in 2019.

So what’s a healthy amount to eat?

The Cancer Council Says… -700 gms (raw)

Emphasis on ‘raw’ there - meat loses weight as you cook it. The research on processed meats looks like it might cause a few different cancers too, argh!…

The American Heart Foundation says there are a few other health risks, including…
-Heart disease
-Stroke
-Obesity
-High blood pressure
-High cholesterol
-Type 2 diabetes
-MANY cancers

Since 2015, The World Health Organisation has even classified processed meats (ham, bacon, salami) as GROUP 1 CARCINOGENS!

Yikes, maybe that’s why…

The Australian Heart Foundation Recommends… -350 gms!

That’s right… ‘less than 350 grams a week for unprocessed beef, lamb, pork and veal. That’s around one to three lean red-meat meals a week, like a Sunday roast and a beef stir-fry.’ Any more health findings while we’re here?

We’re on the EXTREME end for obesity as well!

Yeah look, as well as eating too much meat, we’ve probably been eating too many choccies and the like - especially Australian males - as per graph from an AIHW study! Turns out reducing these foods in your diet can have more than just physical benefits too…

Successful Mental Health Improvements

Two kinda world famous studies, the SMILES Trial in Victoria, and UniSA’s research into the Mediterranean Diet’s Effect on Mental Health, found that improving diets can significantly improve mental health. The SMILES Trial even found that it was cheaper to eat their diet - both at a personal level and health system level - it’s a no brainer! Research is even being done to see if diets can reduce aggression in prisons!

1) Maybe try a ‘Regulartarian’ Diet?

Simply following the Australian Dietary Guidelines could reduce your dietary carbon footprint by 25% according to one study!

So why not tie all the above together into a ‘Regulartarian Diet’. Ok, The Regulartarian Diet is just a new name that I made up for the Australian Guide To Healthy Eating.

Strictly speaking, to maximise the full ‘High Impact’ of this Challenge, a plant based diet is recommended. This is the ‘I Do What I Can’ Carbon Challenge though, so simply suggesting that you consider a Regulartarian Diet at least for now. Will be better for the planet, and for your bodily temple - it’s another Win/Win.

Yeah ok so the poster isn’t the most appealing, you can get creative with salads and stir fries though. Essentially you want to eat the freshest food that you can. Easier than you might think!

Maybe even try a Mediterranean or Blue Zone diet? Seriously! People have been living happily for yonks just by sticking to these traditional diets!

2) Maybe try planet friendly options like kangaroo?

Reduce your footprint even further! Another study found swapping out beef for planet friendly options (like turkey) can not only halve carbon footprints (for North Americans), but also reduce water scarcity.

Because kangaroos are native, they…
-use way less water
-are less destructive on environment (that’s why you see kangaroos on golf courses… and not cows or sheep)

And have…
-Low fat and cholesterol
-High linoleic acid, zinc, iron and omega-3 fatty acids (for your brain!)

sidenote: some great recipes from the Top End on Kriol Kitchen

Just echoing these challenges are pretty much maths based and you may have other concerns that you want to take into account. Eating wild introduced species (like deer and bore) could help solve ecological problems, so it’s worth checking things like Discovered Wildfoods!

Ok, anything else?

3) Maybe eat the food you already bought…!?

$2000-2500 is spent on food that gets wasted per household per year - save yourself some money!
If 1/3rd of global emissions are from food… and we’re wasting 20% (which contribute about 3% to Australia’s total emissions)… it’s kind of an easy place to start.

Any other suggestions?…

Make it a HABIT…

Alright, so this ‘challenge’ is a little different to previous challenges in that it’s more of a lifestyle than a ‘set and forget’. So we’ve got a couple of tips from Atomic Habits to help get you started. You kinda need to come up with these to suit your own circumstances to make them stick, though here’s a couple of suggestions to get the ball rolling. Be warned, some of these tips are SUPER CHEESY, but effective! Official Atomic Habits Cheat Sheet over here, basically you want to follow these steps…

How can I make it obvious?

Maybe…
-Try think of the times of the week where you’re eating too much carbon intensive meat, choccies, etc
-Use implementation intentions: I will [Behaviour] at [Time] in [Location]; ie, I will eat x3 veggies at dinner in my kitchen; When I’m hungry at home I will check the fridge and pantry for things to eat before ordering more food.
-Print out the Healthy Food Pyramid, the Australian Guide To Healthy Eating or the SMILES Diet guidelines and stick it on the fridge? Make your own poster for the fridge!?
-Put together your own rough weekly meal plan, a draft to copy/paste over here!
-Create ‘good’ environments by sticking healthy snacky things like nuts within arms reach?
-Avoid ‘bad’ environments like supermarkets where they put all the really cheap unhealthy foods right under your nose!

How can I make it attractive?

Maybe…
-Try Meat Free Mondays, Veggie Thursdays, Fish Fridays cook-ups with your mates? Maybe Brain Food Tuesdays… make something up!

How can I make it easy?

Maybe…
-Try remember x2-3 fruits and x5-6 veggies per day - that’s the recommendation!
-Get an Ugly (?) Food subscription?
-Good & Fugly (Syd/Gadigal Country)
-CERES Fair Food (Melb/Wurundjeri Country)
-Farmer’s Pick (Melb/Wurundjeri Country & Regional Vic)
We’d love to hear of other suggestions!

How can I make it satisfying?

Maybe…
-Mark it off in the calendar when you’ve had a day or week sticking to your Regulartarian (or whichever) Diet - it feels good ticking things off!
-Never repeat a trip up! We all have little trip ups, though make sure you get back on track straight away.

Any other tricks? We’d love to hear them!

So, when and where in your week can you find 30 mins to reconsider your diet?

Put it in your diary!

This is a no-brainer -
the future is in your hands… and mouth!

Ok, so there’s a bit in there. In a nutshell, the challenge is to get into the habit of…

1) sticking to the Australian Guide To Healthy Eating (or Mediterranean, SMILES, Blue Zone, Plant Based or similar diet),
2) switching your red lean meats to planet friendly meats like kangaroo, and
3) finishing all the food you already bought or even ugly foods.

CHEAT SHEET HERE

If you can, you’ll not only reduce your carbon footprint and water scarcity, you’ll probably enjoy some better physical and mental health, and hopefully some financial benefits too. So give it a crack - let us know how you go!

Especially big thanks to Professor Felice Jacka OAM, Jared Quast, Kylie Mahoney, Dr Paul Satur, Harriet Randall for their insights on this challenge, and of course UTAS!

GOOD LUCK!

References / Bibliography / Further Reading
What some much smarter people have said…

New Year Solutions: Food - Jo Fidgen (BBC Radio 4) (15min listen)
New Year Solutions: Meat - Jo Fidgen (BBC Radio 4) (15min listen)
Food: greenhouse gas emissions across the supply chain - (Our World In Data) (1min read)
The science behind why doughnuts are so hard to resist - Christopher Brooks (BBC Ideas) (5min vid)
Better Brain Health: We Are What We Eat - DW (43min vid)
US food industry battles against regulation - Al Jazeera (3min vid)
A Political Lesson on the Power of the Food Industry - Nutrition Facts (6min vid)
Changing your diet could add up to 13 years to your life, study says - Sandee LaMotte (CNN) (5min read)
Is a vegan diet healthier than eating meat and dairy? - BBC Ideas (7min vid)
Fight For Planet A: Our Climate Challenge - Food Footprints - ABC (1hr vid)
How urban horticulture can help us get our five a day - World Economic Forum/The Conversation (4min read)
How Bad Are Bananas? The Carbon Footprint of Everything - Mike Berners-Lee (book)
Climate explained: how the climate impact of beef compares with plant-based alternatives, A New Zealand perspective - Alexandra Macmillan & Jono Drew (The Conversation) (3min read)
Commercial Food Waste - War On Waste (ABC) (5min vid)
Could rewriting restaurant menus be a climate game-changer? - World Economic Forum (2min vid)
Future of Food - World Economic Forum (many reads)
How The Agricultural Sector Can Reduce Emissions - Grattan Institute (22min listen)
Setting The Table For A Food Revolution - Outrage & Optimism (1hr listen)
The Seeds Are Sown for a Food Revolution with Agnes Kalibata - Outrage & Optimism (30min listen)
Atomic Habits - James Clear (chat with Ryan Holiday) (1hr listen)
How To Change - Katy Milkman (book)

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