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By James Healy

2018 was recently announced the fourth hottest year on record. A year in which we saw California burn while normally moderate regions like Ireland experienced unseasonal snow storms. This tale of fire and ice will be our future reality, as climate change accelerates the frequency and severity of extreme weather events.

The effects are impossible to ignore here in Somerville also. Increasingly rising sea levels will worsen winter flooding, show cased during last year’s Nor’easter. Summers will continue to echo the near record breaking heat of 2018 which New England experienced. Exacerbated by Somerville’s urban heat island effect, local temperature highs will further increase worsening the public health threats of overheating on the elderly and young.

With a president in climate denial, with cities like Somerville and Boston slow to implement substantive carbon neutralizing measures, and with an ever increasing, ever carbon expending global population the need to revise our cultural climate norms is clear. Could our diet be the answer?

A report recently published by the Lancet from researchers at Harvard set to address these challenges of over population and climate change through diet. The flexitarian or planetary health diet aims to sustainably feed the 10 billion people set to occupy our planet by 2050.

The need for dietary revision is cited by EAT-Lancet which highlights the environmental impact of agriculture. As mentioned by the report, agriculture accounts for 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions and consumes 70% of the world’s freshwater. Animal agriculture, particularly red meat production, received a special mention due to the disproportionally large share of greenhouse gas emissions it accounts for.

For health and environmental reasons, the diet promotes a larger intake of fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains and plant proteins like beans and lentils. Animal products like dairy, but mainly meat and fish are greatly reduced in the recommended diet for environmental reasons. 98 grams of red meat, 203 grams of poultry and 196 grams of fish are advised per week.

In a tip of the hat to the farm to table movement whose popularity is rising in Somerville, the report speaks of “voting with every plate” and the importance of sustainably sourced local produce. The global health benefits of a largely plant based, low red meat diet are cited in helping to tackle the cardiovascular disease and obesity crisis we also face.

As a lover of a great steak who has given up meat and fish for 2019, I can testify that with good recipes and a bit of creativity it feels fantastic to give up meat and fish from an ethical and health stand point. Therefore, as the flexitarian diet incorporates red meat, fish and poultry, the popularity of a sustainable diet to save and feed the world seems plausible.