Be part of a new normal: Make the veg option your default this year
What if we chose our food and set menus as if there was a climate emergency? Because there is.
The EAT-Lancet report is unequivocal: to feed a future population of 10 billion people healthy food within planetary boundaries, we must shift our eating habits to a predominantly plant-based diet. The keywords here are:
- 10 billion people: We are not entitled to make food choices that would be disastrous if the global population adopted them too… but that’s what most Westerners are doing at the moment.
- healthy: Food that promotes good heart, GI, and mental health not only makes our own lives more pleasant, but also decrease the global burden of chronic disease.
- planetary boundaries: We are already in overshoot and a big contributor to our excess consumption is the amount of land required for animal-focused agriculture, to say nothing of methane emissions and excess manure. None of that is necessary.
Whether you set the menu for yourself, your family, a restaurant, an event, or an institution, I invite you to flip the script this year. Instead of listing mostly meals that contain animal products like meat, dairy, and eggs, and tacking on a vegan option as an afterthought with the goal of being inclusive, do the opposite. Create a menu primarily with plant-based options, and add an animal-based option (if you must).
Make the new normal appealing by giving it a mouth-watering name (avoid mentioning “fake” anything, or soy, or tofu…), focus on bold flavors, and make sure there is a punch of color. And please, do not label the veg options as such! Don’t worry, those who want to know will ask.
If you plan meals for a family or an institution, you may not want to make a big splash about it. However, if you have a restaurant, you must know that several establishments over the past few years have been met with tremendous commercial success when they turned plant-based. Get acquainted with your local veg* community and make sure they know about the good stuff you are offering to instantly gain a new flock of loyal customers.
If you have a family and worry that you will face mutiny when you drop a new kind of dinner on the table, I gathered my best tips for you in a different blog post: 10 transition tips for late-blooming vegans with a family in tow.
Challenge yourself to try it for a week, for a month, for the year. Your skill will increase, your tastebuds will evolve, your circle of compassion will broaden, and you won’t want to turn back.
Brigitte Gemme is a vegan food educator, meal planner, and coach. After a PhD in sociology of higher education and a 15-year career in research management, she got impatient with the slow pace of planet-friendly change and decided to help individuals live a gentler life. If you need help deciding what’s for dinner, check out her meal plans at VeganFamilyKitchen.com. If you need personal guidance and accountability to embrace a gentler lifestyle, consider signing up for a free week with her using coupon code BRIGITTEWEEK on coach.me. Brigitte loves nothing more than helping more people eat more plants.
