Tag: diet

Counting on … day 119

6th November 2026

Nature friendly farming

Goulson begins this chapter with what is again at the nub of the issue. “As we have explores, there is overwhelming evidence that the industrialisation of farming is a major driver of the loss of wildlife around the globe; ecosystems rich in wildlife have been swept away, and replaced by serried ranks of oil palms, vines or vast fields of arable crops, which are treated multiple times per year with many different pesticides to keep the crop as close to a perfect monoculture as possible. Industrialised farming and nature are mutually exclusive.

“Loss of wildlife from the land is clearly undesirable for many reasons, not least of which is that it undermines the stability of farming itself, which needs bees and pollinators, ladybirds and other natural enemies of crop pests, and the diverse array of small creatures that keep soil healthy and recycle nutrients.” (P168 Eat the Planet Well)

Goulson follows this with an overview of the many ways in which nature-friendly farming provides a positive and productive alternative. He takes the example of hedgerows which were ripped out following the Second World War to make maximise field size and increase productivity. On the ground trials and research shows the contrary to be true. “If every arable farmer …put the least productive 8% of their land into wildlife habitats, there would apparently be no impact on overall crop production but huge benefits for nature; 8 per cent of arable land in the UK would amount to a staggering 320,000 hectares of wildlife habitat.” (P169) Other examples covered include expanded crop rotations, agroforestry, the UK government’s and various EU environmental policies and subsidies, as well as regenerative and organic farming practices, ending with this recap:-

“In short, conventional farming could adopt a suite of measures that would boost biodiversity considerably with little or no impact on overall crop yield or farm profitability, and some of these would help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We should be encouraging and supporting farmers to deploy as many of these measures as possible, ideally with government funding and incentives. Going organic also boosts biodiversity, but comes at the cost of decreased yield for some crops. The ideal system, from both environmental and human health perspectives, would combine both, but to be viable without increasing food imports this would require a shift in diet.” (P179)

Counting on … day 117

4th November 2026

Switch to meat and milk alternatives?

Goulson begins by noting the rising levels of consumption of vegan and vegetarian substitutes – although these may be the result of highly processed ingredients. He also notes the ongoing research into and development of, meat substitutes using ‘precision fermentation’ using microbes such as selected  yeasts and bacteria. And of course he reminds us that fermentation is widely used in many existing food items such as beer, cheese, sauerkraut, tofu etc.

However, “The very large plus side is that a switch to a lab-grown meat or precision-fermented protein sources in place of conventional meat and dairy would be a game changer for our planet. It would free up roughly 92% of all land that is currently used for livestock grazing and to grow food for livestock…that could be turned over to nature and carbon capture. This would eliminate the vast greenhouse gas emissions associated with livestock farming. It would be the single largest step we could realistically take in the near future to combat climate change and biodiversity collapse.

“That may seem like a glittering prize for environmentalists, but of course life is rarely quite to simple. A change like this would be hugely controversial, and have obvious and devastating consequences for the livelihoods of livestock farmers. On the other hand, if we carry on along our current trajectory, then climate change will devastate economies and livelihoods, cause extreme weather events that kill millions, flood low-lying lands including many coastal cities, render large chunks of Africa uninhabitable, and drive mass migration and social upheaval. Many scientists, me included, predict the collapse of civilisation this century if we don’t do much to combat biodiversity loss and climate change. Having to adapt to a world without livestock farming seems like small potatoes in comparison.” (143)

This I feel is at the heart of the book. We need to change the way we eat and the way we farm if we are to safeguard our lives on this planet.

Goulson argues that rather than UPFs substitutes, the healthiest option is to eat a diversity of protein-rich plants – lentils, beans and peas and products such as tofu and tempeh. As regards milk alternatives, he commends those plant-based milks that avoid the more complex additions of stabilisers, acidity regulators and emulsifiers. However he equally highlights that dairy milk is a good source of vitamins D and B, calcium and iodine and on that basis recommends dairy milk for children. (P146)

Counting on … day 116

3rd November 2026

Do livestock suffer?

Not only does meat and dairy production have a massive environmental footprint, its progress from birth to abattoir is frequently unimaginable.

In this chapter Goulson explores the reality of the living conditions of livestock which are frequently not the bucolic frolicking in meadows of happy animals that advertisements suggest. At root much of the inhumane farming of livestock is driven by the pressure to produce ever cheaper food products. Where chicken was once a treat for a special occasion, chicken is now very cheap. Goulson quotes £6 for four chicken breasts or a mere £4 for an oven ready chicken. (P128) To achieve those prices costs have to be pinched as much as possible. “Typically, in the UK, each chicken is reared with 25,000 others in a large, dimly lit building, usually windowless, with sawdust in the floor. The dim light discourages movement, so that the birds do not waste energy. They eat carefully formulated feed, usually soy-based, with much of the soy brown in South America, in what was once tropical forest…Often the feed has palm oil added too, and/or fish meal from small fish such as sand eels. The birds are stocked at … nineteen grown chickens squeezed into every 1 meter by 1 meter …Naturally, chickens have a life expectancy of twelve years or more, but meat chickens are slaughtered at five or six weeks old…” (p128-9 Eat the Planet Well) Goulson follows through this chapter with equally disturbing descriptions of the raising of egg-laying hens, pigs, dairy and beef cattle.

Although he doesn’t advocate not eating meat or dairy products, he asks that if we do do so, surely at the least we should ensure the wellbeing of each animal throughout its short life. He recommends choosing products that have in someway been certified to ensure this – whether that be organic, Pasture for Life, and RSPCA Assured – but notes that certification is not always enough.

Counting on … day 115

2nd November 2026

Ultra processed food

“In the past fifty years, our diets have undergone the biggest shift for 12,000 years – since the dawn of agriculture.” (P109 Eat the Planet Well) Goulson describes that earlier shift as being from a hunter-gatherer diet of great diversity to one of a more limited diet of what could easily be farmed, with a reliance on grains – a limitation that itself caused dietary deficiencies. Fast forward to the twentieth century, and alongside a growing obsession with nutrition, a growth in ultra processed foods. These are, in essence, synthetic foods made from a limited number of ingredients  – principally wheat, rice, corn and soy – that re-created into a diverse range of foodstuffs by “extracting substances such as oils, starch, sugar and protein from basic foodstuffs, or by grinding and pureeing animal carcasses, and then reconstituting these substances with gelling agents, salt, flavour enhancers, anti-foaming agents, sweetness, colours, preservatives, antipyretic, emulsifiers and stabilisers” writes Goulson. “The food industry loves such products, as they are based in cheap ingredients and hence can be sold at a very profitable market-up. Preservatives are added to ensure the convenience of a long shelf life, and most of these products require little or no preparation before eating. Moreover, these synthetic foods are designed to be moreish and slow to induce satiation, so that we eat a lot of them; this is good for profits, not so good for us.

“A further advantage of  UPFs from a food industry persevere is that they can be tinkered with to suit the latest food FSDA or nutritional advice, making it seem like they are the healthy choice. You might replace sugar with sweetener, add a few vitamins to a sugary cereal, or use more than one type of refined grain to bake a loaf of wholesome-sounding ‘multigrain’ bread.  Even Pringles now come in a ‘multigrain’ option.” (P110 and 111)

What are the health hazards of UPFs? Goulson refers us to a systematic review of twenty-three relevant studies that “concluded that high levels of consumption were associated with increased mortality, obesity, low HDL cholesterol and metabolic syndrome (a combination of diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity)” whilst other studies pointed to risks of depression, higher risks of cancer, and of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. (P119)

How to identify UPFs? Goulson starts with Michael Pollan’s advice:

  1. don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognise as food, and avoid food products containing ingredients that are
  2. Unfamiliar
  3. Unpronounceable
  4. More than five in number* or that
  5. Include high-fructose corn syrup. To which Goulson adds, anything where sugar comprises more than 10% by weight of contains artificial sweeteners; or ingredients thtvhve been hydrogenated, refined, hydrolysed, modified, bleached or enriched. (P121-2)

Goulson also points out that vegan and vegetarian foods are as equally likely to be highly processed in including vegan sausages, cream, cheeses etc.

He concludes: “Remember that, on average, UK, US and Canadian citizens consume about 50-60% of their calories as ultra-processed foods; it is that which makes us ill. Treating yourself to the odd packet of crisps or an icecream or whatever else tickles your fancy, is fine.” (P125)

* Although bear in mind that a curry or tagine, say, may well have a lot more ingredients given the variety and range of spices and vegetables included.

Counting on … day 114

28th  October 2026

What to do about soy and palm oil?

You well be surprised to learn that soy and palm oil are by far the biggest sources of vegetable oil in our diets: 76 million tonnes of palm oil and 59 million tonnes of soy are harvested every year. The next most co:mon vegetable oil is rape seed coming in at 25 million tonnes, whilst olive oil measures a mere 3 million tonnes. (P100 Eat the Planet Well).

Most of the soy oil is used to manufacture high protein animal feed. Soy that is used to create protein rich tofu, soya milk, soy sauce etc uses but a fraction.

Palm oil is widely used in food processing. Palm oil yields are high, making it a cheap oil. It is versatile, stable during cooking and semi solid at room temperature. It can be found in products as diverse as bread, icecream, biscuits, breakfast cereals, chocolate and even baby food. It is also widely used in products such as shampoo, toothpaste and cosmetics. A wonder ingredient! But the problem lies in where and how oil palms are grown. They grow best in hot humid conditions with plenty of rainfall such as occurs in rainforest habitats. Vast tracts of rainforest have been cleared to make way for mono crop oil palm plantations, causing ecological and climatic devastation.

Another downside of palm oil is that it is higher than other plant oils in saturated fats – 52% (NB Coconut oil is even higher at 89%).*

“So” asks Goulson, “should we boycott palm oil? There is no clear answer, so I can only tell you my decision. If palm oil were a healthy ingredient used in nutritious foods, I might reluctantly recommend that we consume it, choosing products certified by RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) and pushing RSPO standards to be improved to prevent further deforestation. In reality, palm oil offers little nutrition beyond raw calories, is probably bday for our hearts, and is largely only available in ultra-processed foods that are almost universally awful for our health…. I for one will not consume the oil.” (P108 Eat the Planet Well)

*Butter contains about 70% saturated fatty acids.

NB vegan butters tend to contain either palm or coconut oil to gain their semi solid consistency. For more information visit https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/nutrition/is-vegan-butter-healthy

Counting on … day 110

22nd October 2026

The Impact of fertilisers

Having explored agriculture in terms of carbon, land-use and water, Goulson next turns to fertilisers and pesticides and their effect on our food and our environment. Fertilisers are used to improve crop yields by improving nutrient levels in the soil. Wood ash, guano and other manures, blood, ground up bones, etc have been used to increase levels of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in the soil. Organic farming uses techniques such as growing nitrogen fixing crops – clovers, beans  and peas –  well as adding animal manure, plant compost and sea weed, and ploughing in sacrificial green cover crops.

Non-organic farms now use primarily synthetic fertilisers made from fossil fuels (which is why the price of fertilisers is currently rising as fuel prices rise because of the conflict in the Middle East).

Synthetic fertilisers have certainly contributed to a significant rise in crop yields but they have also caused pollution. In their production and use they release substantial greenhouse gases. They cause poisonous algal blooms as they leach into water ways, killing of aquatic plants and creatures. These consequences of fertiliser use are known as eutrophying emissions.

As with other issues, some foods are more reliant on fertilisers than others. When it comes to meat and animal products – which again are at the top end of the table – much of that fertiliser is uses to produce animal fodder).

Counting on … day 109

21st October 2026

Limited water and land

“Aside from contributing to climate change, food production has substantial environmental impacts that tend to receive a lot less attention. Most obviously, it takes up an awful lot of land, and its extent continues to grow. Pristine, biodiverse habitats such as rain forests continue to be converted into dull, pesticide-soaked monocultures of soy beans or oil palms, or overgrazed, arid pastures.”

But “One way to reduce our global footprint is by consuming foods that require less land….vegetables, most fruits and wine….”(P47 Eat the Planet Well)

However it is not just land that crops need but water too. How much crops need varies across the range whilst the availability of water across the globe also varies. Sensibly one wouldn’t grow thirsty crops in areas of low rainfall or where there isn’t a guarantee of sufficient water from rivers or aquifers. (These latter cannot supply infinite amounts of water). And climate change is rapidly changing how much water might be available and when.

Agriculture may not be an issue in taking too much water from limited supplies, it may also have a detrimental effect on those very water supplies as the run off from the land can carry with it pollutants from pesticides and herbicides, from fertilisers and from slurry.

Again it is meat and dairy that are the main large consumers of water with fruit, vegetables and pulses being much less needy.  However olive oil and nuts – together with cheese – can use even more water  per kg of food produced.  Some olive and nut orchards rely heavily on irrigation and their produce is best avoided, whilst others are grown in regions where farmers can simply rely on rainwater – Goulson recommends rain fed olives from Portugal and  southern Spain, as well as walnuts (they need no irrigations) and Brazil nuts – ditto as they grow in rainforests. W

Climate change may yet require further shifts in where such foods are grown. But  eating more plants and  less meat and dairy is a good move.

Counting on … day 107

19th October 2026

‘Carbon, Cows and Climate Change’

In this chapter Goulson focuses on the carbon footprint of different foods. Research clearly shows that beef has the largest footprint, and that of all the foods we eat, it is almost always those that are plant based that have the lowest. Having explored the whys and wherefore,  he concludes “there is no question that livestock farming as practiced up to the present has resulted in vast deforestation, air and water pollution, and soil erosion, and contributed hugely to greenhouse gas emissions…there is no scenario in which livestock are carbon neutral.” Further he notes “More than 75% of the world’s agricultural land is devoted to rearing animals, yet they contribute just 18- of our calories and 37% of our protein intake. Growing crops to feed animals to feed people is a hugely inefficient way of feeding people, and there simply isn’t the space on our planet for us all to have a meat-rich diet.” (P39 Eat the Planet Well Dave Goulson)

His conclusion is that we shouldn’t eat meat from animal that have been mass-reared indoors or in crowded feedlots but rather should choose outdoor reared meat and eat less meat.

There are various ways of eating less meat such as meat-free Mondays, or meat-free weekdays. The former has its own website! https://meatfreemondays.com/calculator/

And enticing looking recipes – https://meatfreemondays.com/our-recipes/

Green Tau: Food insecurity & what we can do

28th March 2023 update 2nd January 2026

1. Ensuring people have a sufficient income to buy the food they need.


1b.. Growing our own food and enabling others to do likewise.

2. Taking action to limit keep rising global temperatures below 1.5C – curbing climate change will improve the chances of better harvests.

3.  Paying  a fair price for the food we eat. You might buy direct from a farm  – eg https://www.riverford.co.uk/ – or a group of  farms, or via a local vegetable box scheme. You might support a local farmers’ market. You might buy from a local independent green grocer. Similarly you might buy milk etc from a milk round where the price reflects the cost to the farmer. For cheeses, look to buy from small scale producers via a local cheese shop. And again buying fair trade options for imported foods can help ensure a fair price for the producer. Alternatively look out for products – coffee beans and chocolate in particularly – that have been  sourced directly from the grower. These  are often available through local independent shops and cafés.

Another option would be to subscribe to the OddBox fruit and veg scheme which buys food stuffs that would otherwise go to waste because they are misshapen, because the supermarket doesn’t want the crop, or because the crop has been too large or too small for the supermarket buyer –  https://www.oddbox.co.uk/ 

4. Buying from local producers and local retailers helps to improve local supply chains. 

5. Again the best approach to improving global food security and ensuring there is enough food for everyone is to reduce – or cut out completely – animal products.

6. To support and encourage the maintenance of healthy soil, you might choose to buy organic produce (https://www.soilassociation.org/ ), or source items produced using  regenerative farming practices (https://regenerativefoodandfarming.co.uk/)

7. You might read about and take on board the ideals of the  Planetary Health Diet – a diet devised by the Eat-Lancet Commission as the most healthy diet for humans and for the planet: https://eatforum.org/eat-lancet/the-planetary-health-diet/

8. To improve the  security of our food supplies  through diversity, expand the range of foods you eat. Try different sorts and fruit and vegetables, different types of grain – emmer, einkorn, spelt, black barley  – and different sorts of nuts, spices etc. This can also improve your health – it is recommended that our diets should include 30 or more different types of fruit, vegetables, nuts, grains etc per week. See for example https://www.theguthealthdoctor.com/how-to-get-your-gut-loving-30-plant-points-a-week.

9. Improving biodiversity as a whole is a good preventative against diseases that could ravaged farm production. You might therefore choose to grow more wild/ native plants in your garden, or choose plants that support and encourage biodiversity in terms of birds, insects, butterflies, and bats etc. many web sites have suggestions about improving the biodiversity of your garden including those of the RSPB and the Natural History Museum. You might want to support charities and organisations that encourage biodiversity and even extend that to the re-wilding of land, both in the UK – eg https://www.rewildingbritain.org.uk/explore-rewilding/what-is-rewilding – and overseas – https://www.cleanupthetropicaltimbertrade.org/about ,   https://wwf.panda.org/discover/our_focus/forests_practice/importance_forests/tropical_rainforest/ ,   http://savetheorangutan.org.uk/

Counting on … day 202

29th October 2024

About 34% of all our greenhouse gas emissions are food related so looking at what we eat and making changes can be – cumulatively – a very effective way of addressing the climate crisis.(1)

80% of agricultural land is used for feeding and grazing livestock, yet produces only 17% of global calories.(2) Reducing the meat and dairy products we eat, not only reduces the emissions linked directly to the livestock, but also frees up land that could be used to grow plant based foods for humans, and frees up land that could be rewilded to boost both biodiversity and natural carbon capture. 

The Ethical Consumer’s report ‘Closing the Gap 2024’ records that this change in diet in the UK has already started, so let’s carry on and boost this trend even more!

Tips for swopping to a plant based diet – https://greentau.org/2021/10/12/eco-tips-11/

  1. https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-021-00225-9
  2. https://ourworldindata.org/global-land-for-agriculture

Further reading https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/how-tweaking-your-diet-can-help-save-planet