You can save the world by changing your diet
ETimes December 26, 2025 11:39 PM
What if you save the world just like that? No, you don’t have to be a Superman (or Superwoman) to save the world. In fact, you don’t have to be as powerful as they are, but you can still contribute to saving the world. Wondering how? All you have to do is tweak your diet . This doesn’t really mean giving up your favourite foods.
According to a recent University of British Columbia study, . The findings of the study are published in the journal Environmental Research Food Systems.
Eat enough, not more
The holiday season is here, and it means delightful overeating, followed by recriminatory New Year’s resolutions! In order to save the world, you may have to slash that. According to the researchers, eating enough and no more should be on the menu for all of us. They found that 44% of humans would need to change their diets for the world to warm no more than 2 C.
Dr. Juan Diego Martinez, who led the research as a doctoral student at UBC’s Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, elaborated about the simple dietary changes we can all make for a better world.
“Half of us globally and at least 90% of Canadians need to change our diets to prevent severe planetary warming. And that number is conservative, because we used 2012 data. Since then, emissions and the world’s population have both increased. Looking ahead to 2050, we found that 90 % of us will need to be eating differently,” Dr Martinez said.
“We looked at data from 112 countries, accounting for 99 per cent of food-related greenhouse gas emissions globally, and divided each country’s population into 10 income groups. We calculated a food emissions budget for each person by combining emissions from food consumption, global food production and supply chains, and compared these emissions to the total the world can afford if we want to stay below 2 C of warming.”
Why focus on food?
So why does one really look at changing dietary habits, rather than saying fly less, or other interventions?
“The world’s food systems are responsible for more than one-third of all human greenhouse gas emissions. We found that the 15 per cent of people who emitted the most account for 30 per cent of total food emissions, equaling the contribution of the entire bottom 50 per cent. This select group consists of the wealthiest people in high-emissions countries, including the Central African Republic, Brazil, and Australia. Even though this group is emitting a lot, there is a much higher number of people whose diets are above that cap. This is why half, not just the richest, of the global population needs to change diets. In Canada, all 10 income groups are above the cap,” she said.
The researcher also added that the discussions around flying less, using electric vehicles, and buying fewer luxury goods are valid, but focusing on food is doable. “ We need to reduce emissions anyway we can. However, food emissions are not just a problem for the richest—we all need to eat, so we can all make a change. For people who are both flying frequently and eating lots of beef, it’s not an either/or: Try to reduce both.”
How to change your diet to save the world?
So, the biggest question is - What changes can we make to our diets? For starters, eat only what you need. “Repurpose what you don’t. Less wasted food means fewer emissions, less cooking and more easy, tasty leftovers,” the researcher added.
Another change is eliminating or reducing beef consumption. “43 per cent of food-related emissions from the average Canadian come from beef alone. We could have had our beef and eaten it too if we’d followed the agreements laid out in , but we’re now at a point where food emissions also need to fall to avoid the worst of climate change ,” she said.
“I grew up in Latin America, where eating a lot of beef is part of the culture, so I get how much of an ask this is. But we just can’t deny the data anymore.”
And just like that, you can save the world. You don’t need to do any of the superhero stunts, and you still get to save the world!
