I sat at the breakfast table this morning, reflecting on how chilly it was and wondering if it was too early to switch on the central heating when I saw this headline in the Guardian online: “Rising heat kills one person a minute worldwide, major report reveals.” It was accompanied by a rather scary picture of a wildfire in Portugal in August this year.
We’ve known about global warming and the need to reduce emissions for long enough now but still powerful people like Trump tear up climate policies, oil companies still work to exploit new reserves, and governments subsidise fossil fuel companies. And down at ordinary people level many still use wood-burning stoves (because they look cosy) and we appreciate being able to control the temperature in our homes and having hot water when we need it and having all kinds of clever devices controlled by Alexa! Basically we’ve made a mess of the planet.
On a personal level, maybe I need to start wearing ever warmer clothes and oblige the rest of the family to follow suit. However, I suspect I’ll still end up switching the heating on!
Somehow I went from that depressing reading to an article about what we eat: too much in the USA and in the UK apparently. We should adopt a plant-rich “planetary health diet” (PHD) which could prevent 40,000 early deaths a day across the world, according to a landmark report. A high proportion of emissions come from food production and following PHD would, it seems, substantially reduce that, helping fight the climate crisis.
I seem to be on an environmental thing today!
Anyway, if the whole world adopted PHD researchers estimate that it could prevent 15 million early deaths a year in adults, and make it possible to feed everyone! We might all be fitter and healtier and slimmer as a result too.
The PHD recommends plant-rich, flexible diets, including:
- Fruits and vegetables – at least five portions a day
- Whole grains – three to four portions a day
- Nuts – one portion per day
- Legumes (beans, peas, lentils) – one portion per day
- Dairy – one serving of milk, yoghurt or cheese portions a day
- Eggs – three to four a week
- Chicken – two portions a week
- Fish – two portions a week
- Red meat – one portion a week
So there it is!
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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