The Dr. Jules Plant-Based Podcast

Your Plate, Our Planet: How Diet Reshapes Earth's Health

• Dr. Jules Cormier (MD) • Season 2 • Episode 82

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Your fork might be the most powerful climate tool you own. While we fixate on electric cars and plastic straws, we're ignoring the staggering environmental impact of what's on our plates. This episode reveals how animal agriculture generates more greenhouse emissions than all transportation combined, yet remains largely absent from climate conversations.

Prepare for some eye-opening comparisons: beef produces up to 60kg of CO2 per kilogram while lentils generate under 2kg—meaning that swapping steak for beans does more climate good than skipping a week of driving. We explore how animal farming monopolizes 80% of global agricultural land while providing less than 18% of calories, and how it depletes water resources (15,000 liters per kg of beef vs. 1,200 for lentils). Beyond emissions, we discuss how industrial animal agriculture creates ocean dead zones through waste runoff and contributes to species extinction.

But this isn't just about problems—it's about accessible solutions. From Meatless Mondays to strategic food swaps and reducing waste, you'll learn practical strategies to align your plate with planetary health. I share my personal journey of transitioning to plant-based eating for health reasons, then discovering its profound environmental benefits. True wellness comes when our daily choices reflect our deeper values, transforming each meal into a form of quiet activism for the world we wish to create. Whether you're considering plant-based alternatives or simply reducing red meat consumption, every bite makes a difference. What kind of world will you vote for with your next meal?

Subscribe to continue exploring the powerful intersection of personal and planetary health, and visit plantbaseddrjules.com for free resources to support your journey.

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Peace, love, plants!
Dr. Jules

Speaker 1:

Hey everyone, welcome to Season 2 of the Dr Jules Plant-Based Podcast, where we discuss everything from plant-based nutrition to the main pillars of lifestyle medicine. Yo, plant-based buddies, welcome back to another episode. Today we're going to be talking about how your diet shapes the health of the planet. Now, I know that this is always a sensitive subject. People rather have biohacks or top three things to improve your health. These posts tend to gain a lot more traction online, but I think this subject absolutely needs to be covered on the podcast, since it's so important. Now, maybe you recycle, maybe you bring your reusable bags to the store, maybe you even bike to work, but did you know that the single most important thing that you could do for the health of your planet is right there on your plate? So in today's episode, we're going to unpack how your diet impacts the environment and why eating more plants isn't just the best thing that you could do for your body. It's probably the most important thing that you can do, for your body is probably the most important thing that you can do to reduce your carbon footprint and to protect the earth. Now here's the reality Animal agriculture is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than all of the world's planes, trains and automobiles combined. Yet when we talk about climate change, we focus on fossil fuels and plastic straws and electric cars and we completely ignore the steak on our plate. And that needs to change, because shifting what we eat is one of the most impactful and immediate ways that we can reduce our carbon footprint. Now, when comparing the carbon footprints of plant foods versus animal products, honestly there's no comparison. Beef can produce up to 60 kilograms of CO2 equivalents per kilogram of food, cheese and lamb up to 20 to 24 kilograms of CO2. Chicken 6 to 10. And lentils, beans and tofu under 2 kilograms, in other words, 2 kilograms. In other words, beef's carbon footprint is up to 30 times that of lentils. Every time you swap steak for lentils, you're doing more for your planet than skipping a week of driving.

Speaker 1:

Animal-based foods, especially red meat, are the most resource-intensive. Based foods, especially red meat, are the most resource intensive, using more land, water and energy per calorie than all of the plant foods. Animal farming also harms the environment through land use, through greenhouse gas emissions, through water, waste, ocean dead zones and even species extinction. In terms of land use, over 80% of global farmland is used to raise animals, yet it provides less than 18% of calories, less than 18% of calories. And forests are clear to grow soy and to grow corn, not for humans, but to feed livestock. In terms of greenhouse gas emissions, methane from cows is 80 times more potent than CO2. In terms of warming the planet, manure lagoons and digestive emissions release methane and nitrous oxide that are powerful climate pollutants. Now, in terms of water waste, producing a kilogram of beef requires more than 15,000 liters of water. Compare that to lentils that produce maybe 1,200 liters per kilogram. And water is also polluted by animal waste runoff. Antibiotics and fertilizers used for animal feed crops, fertilizers and animal waste runoff will create algae blooms that suffocate aquatic life and lead to massive ocean dead zones, like those in the Gulf of Mexico. They're directly linked to industrial animal farming.

Speaker 1:

The cost of our current food system isn't just heart disease, cancer and diabetes. It's a dying planet. What can we do? What can you do? What are practical strategies that you can do to improve the health of your diet, but also the health of your planet? Well, you could start with things like meatless Mondays. Even a single day a week of plant-based eating can significantly cut down your carbon footprint. Eating can significantly cut down your carbon footprint. You can consider swapping high-impact meats for lower-impact plants, maybe replacing beef or lamb with beans, lentils, tofu or tempeh, or swapping dairy milk for soy milk or oat milk or almond milk, and oat and sorghum are the most sustainable of those plant milks. Consider eating whole foods instead of packaged foods. Processed vegan foods still come with the environmental packaging costs, although they are still infinitely less harmful than red meats. Focus on whole foods if you really want to reduce your carbon footprint to its minimum, and when buying these foods, consider buying local and in season. This will reduce food miles, supports your community and minimizes storage emissions. And also consider wasting less food. Up to 30 to 40 percent of food that is produced is actually never eaten at all and it's thrown out in the garbage. Make sure to plan your meals, to store food properly and to compost if possible. Now you don't have to be perfect, but progress matters and every bite is a vote for the kind of world that you want to live in Now.

Speaker 1:

I initially transitioned to a plant-based diet for health reasons, but within the first year or two of my transition, I started reading more and learning more about the other positive spinoffs of eating this way, and I really connected with the fact that my diet, by default, also drastically reduced my carbon footprint, probably even cut it in half, and now, more than 12 years later, it's still a main reason that I sustain this diet and then I connect personally with it. Now there's a big difference between health and wellness. Health is something you can measure it's your blood sugar, your blood pressure, your cholesterol. It's the absence of disease. Wellness is something much more important. It's living a life where your values are actually aligned with your daily behaviors. Now, I care about my planet and I do care about everything that lives on it, and so when I'm eating a whole foods, plant-based diet, I know that I'm eating in a way that aligns with my values.

Speaker 1:

Now, what we choose to eat every single day shapes the world that we'll live in tomorrow, and by eating more plants and less meat, you're not just lowering your cholesterol or your inflammation and insulin resistance and cardiovascular disease risk and cancer risk. You're also reducing emissions, you're saving water, you're protecting forests and you're helping to heal ecosystems. Now, that's not just nutrition, it's activism, and the most important thing is that I care about the planet that I'm going to leave to the next generation. We've seen extreme weather events, probably more than ever in latest recorded history, we've witnessed flash floodings and wildfires. Inherently, we know that mass animal farming is wrong. Animals get mistreated, our planet gets mistreated, and this is having devastating consequences on climate.

Speaker 1:

Now, much in the same way that you do not need to run a marathon to be fit, you do not need to eat a 100% plant-based diet if that's not what aligns with your beliefs and core values. But health exists on a spectrum and the more whole foods that you eat, the better your health will be for it, and the same thing goes with protecting your environment. If you accept that you're not going to go full plant, definitely recognize that at least reducing the amount of red meat in your diet is the biggest bang for your buck and it's the best way of protecting your environment. Cutting out red meat and dairy will significantly reduce your carbon footprint, and if you can replace these foods with high-protein plants like legumes, chickpeas, beans, lentils or soy products like tofu, tempeh, edamame or soy milk, you will drastically reduce your carbon footprint. Now, if you still want to enjoy that burger on the grill during barbecue season, consider foods like Beyond Meat or Impossible Burgers. Studies like the SWAT Meat Trial have showed that these meat substitutes are healthier than the foods they're trying to replace, not just in terms of health outcomes, but also in terms of environmental impact. You can still enjoy pool season and barbecue season, while helping to heal your body and to save the planet.

Speaker 1:

Think about small changes that you can make, as simple as meatless Mondays or plant-based meat substitutes, or adding more whole foods to your diet. Your health will benefit, as will the planet. Right on. Thanks so much for sticking with me during this short episode, but I really wanted to mention how important it is to not just consider your health, but also planetary health, and probably the most important thing that you can do to protect your planet is start with what you're putting in your body and on your plate every single day. Right on. Thanks so much for tuning in. We'll see you at the next episode. Peace. We'll see you at the next episode Peace. Hey everyone, go check out my website, plantbaseddoctorjulescom, to find free downloadable resources, and remember that you can find me on Facebook and Instagram at Dr Jules Cormier, and on YouTube at Plant-Based Dr Jules.

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Dr. Jules Cormier

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