Is a Vegan Diet Really Better for the Planet?

While veganism is widely recognised as an ethical lifestyle promoting better health and less impact on the environment, is this really true? Avocados packed in plastic certainly don’t fit with sustainability agendas, and processed fast food – plant based or not – is often still packed full of salts, sugars and additives that offer no benefit to – and are often detrimental to – long term health.

Belle About Town spoke to Anisha Mistry Fernandez, a food writer and podcast host. In her professional role she is editor and head of campaigns and partnerships at the EU’S FoodUnfolded, focusing on food policy and sustainability. Outside of work she is host of the Naughty Bites Podcast.

Tell us a bit about your background and what led you to food research and writing

I became passionate about writing after an editor/photographer of Grocer magazine taught us about food photography for publications when I was studying. She suggested I approach a few regional magazines to start with and take it from there after we got talking and I sent her some of my work.

It was at The Beacon Magazine in Leicestershire that I was offered the opportunity to write about my specialist subject, wine (which was part of my undergraduate course) and I continued to write for the magazine for almost a decade.

During this time I also studied olive oil and, living in Spain, I was able to develop my skills and understanding much further as Andalucia produces a lot of olive oil and has one of the best terrains to create some beautiful tasting olive oils. As a result, I wrote about olive oil and its history for The National in the UAE and worked as a consultant for several olive oil companies in Spain at the same time.

The origins and history of food became one of my favourite aspects of food writing, and I continued to explore this topic. As a result of this I co-authored Wine Law and Policy: From National Terroirs to a Global Market, which led me to my second area of experience, food sustainability and the effects of climate change on our food system, where I became the Editor at the EU’s FoodUnfolded.

What should consumers look for on food packaging to make sure it is environmentally friendly? 

It is important to check the origin on the packaging of your “British stamped/approved” fruits and vegetables since they are often produced abroad.

I can’t specify a specific ingredient but if you look at the ingredients that go into the product, we often do not fully understand the full carbon footprint of these heavily processed products from plants into meat-like products, although we do know that they do not replace meat in terms of nutritional content. 

We’ve been experiencing food shortages and empty shelves this year due to climate change and supply chain issues. Is a vegan diet a solution to food shortages? 

A great question and my answer would be, not necessarily. The number of Americans identifying themselves as vegan increased from 1% in 2014 to 6% in 2017. According to Ipos, veganism has grown 400% in the UK in the last two years with 3.25% of adults never eating meat. According to Euromonitor, Italy has the fastest growing vegetarian population with a 94% increase between 2011 and 2016. 

Nevertheless, we should ask ourselves if this increase is affecting farmers globally and if consumers are receiving local and sustainable produce.

We should be asking, “where did this food come from?”. Do we really need our fruit and pulses from Spain, dates from Africa and goji berries from China? If you eat lamb or mutton grown on a farm close by, you are doing much better for the environment than if you eat avocados that have travelled thousands of miles.

Western demand has pushed prices up so much due to the rise in veganism. The cost of these products has made them unaffordable for those in their native countries who depend on them.

We know we need to eat less meat and more vegetables, but there needs to be a sensible balance. Keep it local. Keep it homegrown. Sourcing local food is one way to achieve this. Restaurants with kitchen gardens are reducing their carbon footprint from long distance transportation and growing seasonally. Two huge trends from last year were seasonality and plant-based diets.

Despite the importance of avoiding food that has travelled thousands of miles, we should also not boycott foods that are exported, as farming these foods is essential to developing countries.

To make better food choices and to also reduce the negative impacts on the environment, we need to pay attention to where our food comes from, which is why we need to join a farmers co-op and buy from small-scale producers who are making a profit.

If you are a vegan, what are the foods to avoid if you want to be environmentally friendly?

Avocados: The effects of increased avocado production, especially in Mexico, have been examined in numerous journalistic and institutional reports. Articles published by the Wall Street Journal and the Guardian in 2014 and 2016 claimed that rising avocado prices contributed to illegal deforestation and farmers’ extortion by criminal organisations like Los Caballeros Templarios (The Knights Templar). It was suggested that avocados were equivalent to Africa’s blood diamonds.

Almond milk: You’re likely to consume almond milk or other almond-based products containing nuts from California’s intensively farmed San Joaquin valley (part of the Great Central Valley).

The almond orchards here grow in what has been described as a “chemical soup” (agrichemicals used in monocultures), which causes toxicity among farm workers as well as the death of millions of honeybees trucked in every spring to pollinate them. 

For centuries, almonds have been grown in mixed agricultural settings. Nowadays, industrialised under the aegis of giant food corporations, they’ve become a multibillion-dollar commodity. It is counterproductive to plant and animal biodiversity, soil health, and environmental conservation to cultivate single species crops over large areas.

Is cooking seasonably better for the environment than a vegan diet? 

In a nutshell, yes! If you purchase local and seasonal fruits and vegetables, you may have a larger selection to choose from, and in some cases, locally produced seasonal foods may be the best option for the environment. Foods grown locally and in season are just one part of a sustainable diet.

Eating in season suggests that fruit and vegetables are nutritionally rich immediately after harvest and decline over time. In spite of some micronutrient losses during storage and transportation, these losses are still minimal compared to not eating fruit and vegetables at all.

What do you think are the most common food myths when it comes to sustainability? 

There is no clear definition of the term ‘seasonal’, and it varies depending on its use. Many people associate ‘seasonal’ with foods from ‘local’ farms, others with cultural events, while a third group believes it means reconnecting with the origins of foods and learning about the natural seasons. Even though both definitions and reasons for eating more ‘seasonally’ are worthy, the differences demonstrate the lack of clarity surrounding the term and how difficult it can be to define.

You are from the UK but live in Spain. Would you say it is easier to eat locally sourced food in Spain than it is here in the UK? 

I will start with one of my favourite quotes from Keith Flloyd, “Watch a French housewife as she makes her way slowly along the loaded stalls… searching for the peak of ripeness and flavour… What you are seeing is a true artist at work, patiently assembling all the materials of her craft, just as the painter squeezes oil colours onto his palette ready to create a masterpiece.”

Food in Europe is seasonal and local, not just in Spain. It is easier to shop and eat locally sourced foods when hamlets, towns, villages and cities embrace seasonality. 

Currently, broad beans are in season in Spain and local restaurants are showcasing their recipes to entice locals to eat there. Although I grew up in Loughborough and Preston, I never got to enjoy this. However, when I worked in March in Cambridgeshire, I enjoyed driving past the local farms and buying their seasonal produce.

What are your favourite environmentally friendly meals to cook?

Again, it comes down to what is in season, I look forward to spinach, fresh peas, and garlic scapes. Because their season is so short, I overindulge in Spanish stews, curries, and other Asian dishes.

Who would be your guests at your ultimate dinner party, and what would you cook them? (And why!)

It was on the side streets and on the stalls where the locals gathered that I learned how to cook Thai food. And Asturian food was also taught to me by my grandmother-in-law. So I would cook a mix of Thai and Asturian food.

I would cook:

Pad ma kuer sarm rod, a stir fried aubergine dish with red and green peppers, carrots, ginger and Thai sweet basil leaves in a special Thai sauce.

Thoon Tong (Golden bags), deep fried minced prawn and chicken wrapped in crisp pastry, served with a sweet chilli sauce

An Asturian cheese board, Afuega´l Pitu, La Peral, Gamonéu, Vidiago, and Cabrales.

“Paella asturiana”, using the best of Asturian meats, vegetables and homemade stock.

Asturian Rice Pudding with a Creme Brulee Topping, it’s a simple dessert but the Spanish version takes 3 hours to make, with constant slow stirring.

My guests would be Keith Floyd for his travel and food stories and his eccentric style of presentation and entertaining, Emily Scott for her love of provenance, simplicity, and determination to celebrate the bounty of Cornwall, Ken Hom for his inspiring stories, Massimo Bottura for his commitment to eliminating food waste, Anthony Bourdain for his love of real, non pretentious food and Madhur Jaffrey for her grace and life story.