When it comes to the climate emergency and the nature crisis food is often overlooked. However we cannot ignore it. How and what we farm, fish, eat and dispose of are some of the biggest contributors to climate change and the loss of nature. Industrial animal farming (also known as factory or intensive farming), unsustainable fishing, plants grown in intensive monocultures and overly processed food have created an unsustainable and unequitable food system that is not only having a negative impact on the climate and nature, but also on animal welfare, farm workers, local communities and our health.

Food production methods, and their impact on both our climate and nature, vary from country to country and from farm to farm. There is just one consistency across the world: intensive farming and fishing practices are the main drivers of biodiversity loss on land and at sea and intensive meat production is one of the main causes of food related carbon emissions. The global food system accounts for 21-37% of greenhouse gas emissions with meat and dairy being significant contributors. All animal proteins have a higher carbon impact than plant proteins, and globally it is beef and lamb that contribute the most. It is widely agreed that the solution in the UK however is not simply to ban beef and lamb, it is to eat less and better produced meat and dairy.

Another major contributor to climate change is food waste; this accounts for 8-10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. If food waste was a country it would be third behind the US and China in terms of climate emissions. In the UK, we waste 9.5 Mt of food every year. This is around 25 million tonnes of CO2e – the same as 10 million cars (or 1 in 3 cars) on UK roads; and yet research shows that 70% of people in the UK believe they have no food waste. The UK is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world. Over 70% of UK land is used for agriculture and much of it is farmed intensively for high yield above all else, creating devasting impacts on wildlife and soil health. Only a third of the UK’s main fish stocks are in a healthy state, worse than the global average.

Fifteen ways you can help create change

1. Get a progressive Good Food Policy adopted by your university or college, based on the eight actions outlined above. Get in touch with your students’ union or university/college sustainability team for support.

2. Choose plant-based foods that are seasonal, local or Fairtrade and/or organic wherever possible. Consider using a local veg box scheme, buying from a zero-waste shop on campus if you have one, and if not try setting up a buying group with friends to bulkbuy more affordable wholefoods.

3. Choose better meat and dairy (if you aren’t vegetarian or vegan) that has been produced in the UK. If you do eat meat look out for organic and/or pasture-fed. Avoid processed meat products, only eat meat occasionally and change the proportion of meat-based meals to include a greater vegetable content. This applies whether you’re cooking at home, eating out or buying food on the go.

4. Choose fish (if you aren’t vegetarian or vegan) that is sustainable by avoiding red-rated fish completely, and choosing green-rated, MSC, ASC or organic-certified fish wherever possible, and only eat it occasionally. This applies whether you’re cooking at home, eating out or buying food on the go.

5. Choose to buy food from restaurants and cafes on campus that have been awarded the Food for Life Served Here bronze award as a minimum. If lots of students ask about accreditation it may help push caterers towards taking action if they haven’t already.

6. Choose Fairtrade options whenever possible.

7. Avoid overly processed food, drinks and snacks that are commonly sold in single-use packaging and provide little nutritious value.

8. Use water fountains rather than buying bottled water or fizzy drinks. If these aren’t available on campus, campaign for them to be installed.

9. Always carry a reusable water bottle and/or coffee cup and ideally a food container in case you come across some surplus food after an event, from a friend, or when eating out.

10. Aim to only buy the food you need and if you have surplus freeze it, give it away to someone you know, or share it via an app such as OLIO. See Love Food Hate Waste’s Top 10 tips to reduce food waste.

11. Grow some of your own food: on a food growing site on campus, at your local community garden or Community Supported Agriculture farm, or just in some pots on your windowsill.

12. Buy food from local independent shops such as bakery’s and butchers, or directly from producers e.g. veg box schemes or food markets, instead of going to supermarkets.

13. Campaign for food justice – understand the issues in this framework for a fair food future, join the growing food citizenship movement, and support the call for the Right to Food to be part of UK law.

14. Check for university investments in industrial livestock agriculture and, if they exist, start/support a campaign for Big Livestock divestment with reinvestment into regenerative agriculture that uses nature friendly farming practices.

15. Get involved in national good food campaigns such as Good to Grow Day, Food Waste Action Week, Sugar Smart, The Big Lunch, Fairtrade Friday, Plant & Share Month, Sourdough September or Open farm Sunday.