How to Be a Conscious Eater

and environmental health, though issues still abound regard-

ing animal welfare. For a better planet and better health, we

should look for delicious, satisfying ways to cut our red meat

intake. Experts recommend aiming for a little under 4 ounces

at most per week, or about one hamburger per week or two

servings of steak per month, and at most 7 ounces of poultry

per week, or approximately one large chicken breast.

It bears repeating: If each of us Americans ate less red

meat, we’d make a meaningful difference in reducing global

warming. Stunningly, our current average beef intake is the

equivalent of three hamburgers per week, so cutting that out

of our diets would remove the equivalent greenhouse gas

emissions of all the SUVs in the United States. That’s the calcu-

lation offered by author Mark Bittman in his book Food Matters.

Or, to put it another way, I’ll paraphrase a great quote I heard

once: “You’re better off driving your Hummer to go get a salad

than driving your Prius to a barbecue.”

Dairy has a big impact, too. We’re encouraged to keep dairy

to 250 grams per day, which is about a cup of yogurt or roughly

eight slices of cheese—and increase our consumption of plant

proteins like nuts and legumes to more than 4 ounces per day,

or about four handfuls of almonds per day. In terms of daily

habits, this translates to, for instance, replacing your standard

weekday lunch of a deli sandwich stacked with cold cuts to

options like power bowls or wraps that might feature farro,

avocado, chickpeas, and roasted veggies. For a full list of the

target intakes that align optimal nutrition with environmental

sustainability, visit eatforum.org/eat-lancet-commission.

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