Why going raw = going green

There was an article in Saturday's Times newspaper entitled: 'Walking does more than driving to cause global warming.' Sound outrageous? That's exactly what it is...if you eat a vegan diet. No prizes for guessing that the calculations were based on beef or dairy fuelling the exercise, in which case the shocking statement is true.

Chris Goodall, author of How To Live A Low-Carbon Life, calculated that: "Driving a typical car for 3 miles adds about 0.9kg of C02 to the atmosphere. If you walked instead, it would use 180 calories. You'd need about 100g of beef to replace those calories, resulting in 3.6kg of carbon emissions, or four times as much as driving." Replacing the calories with milk instead of meat would result in 1.2kg of CO2 being added to the atmosphere – still more pollution than the car journey.

But then we already knew that if we care about the environment, we are better off ditching meat and dairy than ditching our cars. Goodall's calculations were based on intensive cattle rearing systems used in Japan, which are similar to those used in Europe and the US. With the return of foot and mouth disease to the UK, it would be easy to suggest that rearing animals organically is the answer. But, reports the same article, from an ecological perspective, animals raised organically are actually worse for the environment because they emit more methane gas, which is 21 times more harmful than C02.

So animal foods are the worst for the environment but do you know which common household appliance is responsible for the highest carbon emissions? It's the cooker... This makes a vegan diet full of natural raw foods the most sustainable way to eat. And it's no coincidence that it happens to be as good for our bodies as it is for the planet!

If you want to take 'treading lightly on the earth' to the next level, grab a copy of Ani's Raw Food Kitchen by raw chef Ani Phyo. To my knowledge there is no better source of ideas for turning your carbon footprint into a tiptoe. Until I read this I thought I was as green as it gets. Now I know differently. But inspired by Ani's example I'm raising my standards – and enjoying making her delicious food!

Comments

[shine]

any ideas where to get this book in the uk ? before dec which is amazons delivery date ?

Sarah responds: That's strange! It was published on February 8. I would suggest contacting amazon customer service about this; alternatively, you should be able to order it from your local bookshop.