Food swaps that are good for you and the environment

While many people may be aware that some foods are more environmentally friendly than others, not everyone is aware of which foods are the biggest culprits when it comes to their impact on the environment.

To help take the guesswork out of which healthy and eco-friendly foods families should  choose  during their weekly shop, Flora Freedom, the recently launched dairy-free vegan spread, has compiled a list of simple grocery swaps that have a more positive impact on the  environment. For example, swapping beef for chicken in a stir fry just once a week for a year would be the equivalent to planting 11 trees! 

To determine the environmental impact of a variety of foods, Flora Freedom used a CO2 Calculator to analyse a selection of popular foods (noted in the table above) and found that small changes make a  big difference.
 
Starting with beef, a weekly serving produces almost 7 times more carbon emissions than chicken. This swap, once a week for a year, is the equivalent to planting 11 trees or travelling more than 750km by car.
 
When it comes to salad, not all vegetables are created equal. Cucumber produces 28 times more CO2 than carrots or the equivalent of travelling more than 150km by car. For dessert, simply swapping from pineapple to strawberries will produce almost 12 times less CO2.
 
Additional research by the Carbon Trust looking into the environmental impact of butter, found that swapping to a dairy-free spread, such as Flora Freedom, for one day a week for a year could reduce carbon emissions by the same amount as 280 days of smart usage or the equivalent of watching 11 hours of television. And the added bonus is that Flora Freedom has 60% less ‘bad’ saturated fat than butter.  Sounds like a no-brainer to us!

For more information, visit the Flora website, where you'll find full details about Flora Freedom as well as lots of delicious dairy-free recipes.  We can't wait to try out these delicious Dairy-free Banana Pancakes with Blueberries and maple syrup!