Wellbeing

My plant-based lifestyle

By StudentGuest 21 Feb 2024

My name is Hannah , and I’m a second-year International Relations student and I lived in Urbanest Westminster Bridge halls last year.

Why I eat plant-based for the planet

Climate change is one of the most important problems of our generation and it is up to us to save the planet and live more responsibly. One impactful way we can do this is by eating more plants/vegetarian food.

I am vegetarian currently, but I’ve been vegan in the past too. For me, being vegetarian is not only for my health and animal welfare, but mostly for the reduced climate impact of this diet. London is a perfect place to incorporate a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle easily.

What does it mean to be ‘plant-based’?

Being on a plant-based diet means eating food largely or solely consisting of foods derived from plants, rather than animal products. A vegan diet eats a 100% plant-based diet, not eating any products produced by animals - that might sound harsh and very difficult at first, but in today’s world, and especially in London, getting good vegan food is very easy.

Why is it good for the environment?

Less Carbon Emissions

The BBC conducted a two-week experiment, tracking the carbon emissions from different diets. The participants on a vegan diet generated 9.9 kg, the vegetarian 16.9kg and the omnivore diet resulted in 48.9kg of emissions. This shows that generally eating more plant-based foods drastically cuts your carbon emissions from food.

The largest chunk of food-related emissions comes from raising agriculture, such as cattle. Growing vegetables has a lot less of an environmental impact as well.

Uses Less Water

Animal-based foods (meat) also have a way higher ‘water footprint’ than plant-based alternatives. Saving water is crucial for our environment and thus opting for a vegan option is a good choice to preserve water. I would highly recommend looking up the water footprint calculator.