You care about the planet. You recycle. Maybe you make an effort to drive less or shop local. But here’s something many people overlook:

What you eat may have a bigger impact than any of those.

Shifting to a more plant-forward diet is one of the most effective and accessible ways to reduce your environmental footprint.

Some of the most climate-friendly foods are also the most affordable: beans, lentils, rice, potatoes, oats, and in-season produce. These simple staples can support both personal health and planetary health—without a premium price tag.

Of course, not every option is within reach for every budget. But many plant-based basics are accessible, and more businesses are stepping up to help make better options easier to access. 

This Earth Day, we’re connecting the dots between food, sustainability, and why even small shifts in your meals can add up to meaningful impact.

Why Plant-Based Eating Is One of the Most Impactful Climate Solutions

Let’s talk facts:

• Animal agriculture is responsible for 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions (UN FAO).

• A plant-based diet can cut your food-related emissions by up to 73% (Science, 2018).

• 83% of global farmland is used for meat and dairy, yet they provide only 18% of our calories (Our World in Data).

• Plant-based diets dramatically reduce deforestation, water use, pollution, and biodiversity loss (The Guardian).

• The World Wildlife Fund found plant-forward diets can halt deforestation, cut emissions by 30%, and reduce water stress (WWF).

• Livestock are the largest source of agricultural methane emissions, a greenhouse gas more than 80 times more powerful than CO₂ in the short term. Reducing meat consumption directly reduces methane output (EPA, Nature Food).

This Isn’t a Trend—It’s a Transformation

In City Magazine’s Earth Issue, Sweet Pea chef and co-founder Ryan Jennings reflected on how this journey wasn’t just about plant-based food—it was about making it approachable and community-driven.

“Meet people where they are,” he said, adding that advice goes beyond diet and health. “That (approach) includes talking to people who you don't agree with, talking to people in other businesses and industries.”
→ Read the full feature in City Magazine

The more we normalize sustainable meals—at home, in restaurants, in institutions—the more momentum we build toward long-term, systemic change. This can’t fall solely on consumers. It’s about building a food system that makes the better choice the easier choice—for everyone.

Learn More

Want to go deeper? These resources are a great place to start:

• Project Drawdown: Food Solutions
  https://drawdown.org/programs/drawdown-science/food

• Science Journal: “Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers” (Poore & Nemecek, 2018)
  https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaq0216

• Our World in Data: Environmental Impacts of Food Production
  https://ourworldindata.org/environmental-impacts-of-food

• World Wildlife Fund: Planet-Based Diets Report
  https://planetbaseddiets.panda.org

• UNEP: Food System Transformation Report
  https://www.unep.org/resources/report/global-report-agricultural-support-and-sustainable-food-systems-transitions
  

• Climate Solutions Accelerator of the Genesee-Finger Lakes Region
  https://www.climategfl.org

Eating with Earth in Mind

What we eat touches everything—our bodies, our communities, and the planet we all share.

As Abigail McHugh-Grifa of Climate Solutions Accelerator said on a recent episode of the Shelling Peas podcast:

“How we nourish ourselves has so much to do with how we do—or don’t—take care of the planet.”

That’s what this is all about.
Small choices. Shared responsibility.
Creating a better food system—one plate at a time.

Explore this week’s Sweet Pea menu → sweetpeaplantbased.com