Environmental Benefits of a Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean diet offers a variety of important health benefits, including a notable reduction in cancer risk and the risk of heart disease. Although I have personally followed a vegetarian version of the Mediterranean diet for several years, health consdierations aren't my sole motivation. I follow a Mediterranean lifestyle because of the benefits it offers to the planet as well as my own body.

Here are some of the environmental benefits of a Mediterranean diet.

A Smaller Footprint

The Mediterranean diet emphasizes plant-based foods, which require less total land to cultivate than foods derived from animal sources. Meats consumed within a traditional vegetarian diet emphasize lean poultry and sustainably harvested fish, which have a much smaller ecological footprint than meat-based foods.

Fewer Pesticides

Mediterranean diets emphasize organic produce and grains whenever possible. These foods are cultivated without the use of pesticides or synthetic fertilizers and therefore have a lower impact on the surrounding environment. Additionally, the low-meat nature of the Mediterranean diet helps to reduce the pesticide load associated with livestock feed.

Sustainable Fats

The primary fat sources in the Mediterranean diet are nuts and olive oil. These ecologically sustainable fats form the backbone of the lifestyle and add to its health benefits and environmental benefits. Olives and nuts grow abundantly with a relatively low pesticide load, and they do not have the massive carbon output associated with other fat sources suc as butter and meat.

Less Processing

Massive amounts of energy and carbon emissions go into the hyper-processing involved in a typical American diet. A traditional Mediterranean diet includes whole grains and unprocessed vegetables, so there is less energy involved and fewer resulting emissions. Furthermore, Mediterranean foods typically involve less packaging, so there is less landfill waste.