Celebrate Earth Day on April 22, 2026, with group-friendly, sustainable dining options, including plant-based, locally sourced menus and zero-waste initiatives. Key 2026 events include eco-inspired feasts, zero-waste cocktails, and special plant-based, multi-course dinners focused on reducing carbon footprints through low-impact ingredients like lentils, beans, and organic tofu.

Locally Sourced Feasts: Celebrate with fresh, local ingredients, such as the special menu

Plant-Forward Tasting Menus: Enjoy, for example, a four-course vegan dining experience or a plant-based menu

Zero-Waste Dining: Choose restaurants utilizing vegetable scraps and sustainable practices

Low-Impact Menus: Focus on ingredients with low environmental footprints, including lentils, beans, figs, and organic tofu.

9 Easy Food Sustainability Tips: Eating for Earth Day and Every Day
Every bite you take is contributing to food sustainability and earth eco-friendliness, or to harmful emissions and pollution. The choice is yours. Here are 9 tips to make the right choice easier.

here are lots of ways to give back to good old Mother Earth in honor of Earth Day: planting a tree, starting a garden, working to clean up a local park. But so many of us are so busy that it can be hard to devote the time it seems to take… and yet, there are so many ways you can change up your routine right at home to celebrate Earth Day.

Here are 9 conscious eating habits you can change in time for Earth Day to make your living a little bit more sustainable. Some are small, and some require a little more commitment, but all are easy enough for even the busiest of us.

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9 Food Sustainability Tips to Make Earth Day Every DAy
1. Go Veg… At Least Part Time

Meatless Monday is a regular in your household, and you’ve perfected a handful of vegetarian favorites, but could you be going vegetarian even more frequently? Studies show that the environmental effects of eating even just one pound of veggies in place of meat are enormous, thus the popularity of Meatless Monday to take small steps towards this goal.

But the rise of part-time vegetarianism is showing omnivores that eating meatless doesn’t have to be restricted to Mondays. If Meatless Monday is already part of your weekly routine, try having a Meatless Wednesday too. Just be sure to include plant proteins in your meatless meals.

2. Make Your Meat Choices Responsibly
If you’re not looking to make the full jump to vegetarian, that’s okay too, but be sure that your meat is coming from a responsible source. Consider joining a meat collective or meat share to take advantage of whole animal butchering, and get close to the source. Befriend your local butcher or producer to ensure that the meat you’re buying and preparing for your family is as organic and earth-friendly as possible.

3. Jump on the Localvore Bandwagon

You’ve probably already committed to eating more locally, but give yourself a challenge this Earth Day, and commit to eating ultra local.

Ultra local cooperatives are bringing food production and processing even closer, reducing the distance the food travels from origins to the dinner table. And if you take additional steps towards ensuring the distance from the store to your home is covered sustainably, for example by doing your shopping via bike, you’ll be moving even more local.

4. Make Smart Substitutions
You don’t have to give up your favorite foods in honor of Earth Day, but you can make some smart substitutions. The environmental impact of dairy production, for example, means that even if you’re sourcing your cheese and milk locally, it might be time to take a step back, at least on occasion. Luckily, there are many ways to replace cheese and sour cream in your favorite dishes. One of our favorites is the humble avocado, which can be used to make anything from smoothies to green goddess dip to ice cream.

The same goes for eggs, which, while greener than most animal proteins, are not the greenest choice you can make. Substitute other leavening and binding agents for eggs while baking to reduce your carbon footprint.

5. Stay Seasonal and Get to Know New Ingredients
If you’ve already chosen to eat lots of veg and stay local, you’re likely already eating seasonally, but making a conscious effort to eat seasonally is another important way to keep the earth happy.

Seasonality changes depending on where you live, so take a look at a guide to regional seasonality like this one from Seasonal Food. Both can help you see what’s in season near you and help you plan some tasty recipes to celebrate Earth Day. To make this even easier, choose one new seasonal ingredient a week and incorporate it into one or two of your weekly meals. This will help you get to know new ingredients and create a concrete goal that’s easy to meet when it comes to eating more seasonally.

6. Cook At Home 5 Times Per Week
We get it — sometimes the last thing you want to do at the end of a long day is make dinner. But cooking at home isn’t just better for your health; it’s better for the environment. The environmental impact of home cooking consists of many different factors, including increased processing and storage of restaurant foods (including walk-in fridges and freezers), increased transport (of the food and of the diners!) and, of course, the attention that you as the cook can pay to where your ingredients are sourced.

7. Put Up Some Preserves

It’s not quite the season for canning most things in many regions of the States, but don’t reduce your idea of preserving to summer jams and homemade tomato sauce. Winter home canning is just as rewarding and allows you to take full advantage not only of winter produce but of this green preservation method. Put up some homemade giardiniera or pickled beets and keep them in the cupboard for when a craving hits this summer and winter veggies are no longer in season. It goes both ways!

8. Choose Sustainable Fish
You’ve probably been hearing about overfishing for quite some time, but by choosing sustainable fish instead of swearing off fish altogether, you can curb the problem of overfishing. The secret is in small fish like mackerel and sardines, which are forage fish or fish that are eaten by larger species. Get to know these fish and try to cook them once a week — choose Nordic recipes, which tend to naturally feature these flavorful fish.

9. Choose Sustainable Restaurants
We promised you simplicity, and we meant it. Sometimes, you don’t have time to cook, you don’t have time to seek out the best local ingredients. We get it — but that doesn’t mean it’s time to give up and surrender to industrial, processed food. Instead, choose to support a sustainable restaurant.

While very little can beat educated cooking at home, more and more restaurants are working towards sustainability in their kitchens, and it’s important to support them as best we can.

Celebrating Earth Day with Sustainable Eating: Tips for a Greener Plate
This Earth Day, let's celebrate by turning our focus to the food on our plates. The choices we make about what, where, and how we eat can help protect our planet — one delicious meal at a time. Small changes in our daily habits can lead to a greener, healthier future for all.

With Earth Day approaching, April poses a great opportunity to think about how our lives impact the climate. The way we eat, which includes where we get our food from and how we use those foods, makes a substantial impact on the environment.
Sustainable diets are patterns of eating that promote human health and well-being while minimizing overall environmental impact. Factors such as food production methods, resource use, and greenhouse gas emissions should all be taken into consideration when trying to eat more sustainably. For example, plant-based diets, that emphasise fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains, require less land and water to produce. Choosing local and seasonal produce supports local farmers and reduces transportation emissions.

Food waste plays a key role in the health of our environment. It’s estimated that between cooking at home and eating out, Americans throw out billions of pounds of food each year. In addition, plenty of food is left un-purchased in grocery stores and unharvested in the farmers’ fields. This Earth Day, take the time to focus on a few simple changes that can help you save food, money, and contribute to a healthier planet.

Tips to Reduce Food Waste
Plan meals based on food you already have on hand. Take inventory of the fridge, freezer, and pantry before your weekly grocery trip, and try to only buy an amount of perishable food that you’ll know you’ll be able to eat or freeze within a few days.
Find creative ways to use leftovers to avoid throwing them out (as long as they’re still safe to eat). Use leftovers for lunch or dinner the following day, or use veggies and meat to make a large batch of soup or stew.
Place foods that may spoil more quickly in places that are easier to see, increasing the likelihood that they’ll be eaten in a timely manner.
Know the difference between “Best by” and “Sell by” dates. “Best by” dates indicate when products may move past their peak freshness, but they are often still safe to eat after this date. “Sell by” dates are intended for retailers to help manage inventory. Food can often be consumed safely after this date, though it may lose some of its freshness or quality.
Find recipes that use all parts of the fruit and veggie! For example, onion ends, carrot tops, and celery leaves can be made into stocks. Vegetable peelings are full of flavor and can be easily added to soups. Check out this page for more easy recipes to get the most of your fruits and vegetables: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/how-use-fruit-vegetable-scraps
As an alternative to recipes that use fruit and vegetable scraps, consider composting. In addition to fruit and vegetable scraps, compost can also include coffee grounds, tea bags, eggshells, and grass clippings. Composting helps to reduce landfill waste, minimize methane emissions, and improve soil health.
More Small Ways to Eat Sustainably
Start visiting your local farmers market, many of which start up in the spring. Farmers markets provide a great opportunity to buy local, fresh, produce and support local farmers. This helps to reduce the amount of miles food has to travel, reducing transportation emissions. Fresher produce can also be higher in vitamins and minerals, and you’ll certainly notice a significant difference in taste compared to what you might buy at the store!
Buy a reusable water bottle or two, and make a habit of carrying it with you. This will help reduce waste from plastic disposable bottles and will help you to increase your daily water intake.
Try Meatless Mondays (or if Mondays are tricky, try at least one day per week where you leave meat off your plate) This can not only benefit your health, as you’ll likely be increasing your intake of fiber while decreasing saturated fat intake, but is also beneficial to the environment.
It can be overwhelming to think about the challenge of promoting a more sustainable future through our eating habits. It’s important to note that even small changes can make a big impact. This Earth Day, take a moment to reflect on your food choices and make a commitment to a greener tomorrow.

To choose eco-friendly foods for Earth Day, prioritize a plant-rich, seasonal, and local diet to lower your carbon footprint. Focus on legumes, whole grains, nuts, and produce, while reducing dairy and meat consumption. Minimize food waste by using scraps and opt for products with minimal packaging.

Go Plant-Based/Plant-Rich: A plant-based diet (vegan) reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 87% compared to the average, meat-heavy diet. Choose low-impact foods like lentils, chickpeas, mushrooms, and black beans, which offer high nutrition with low water and carbon footprints.
Shop Local and Seasonal: Buying from local farmers' markets reduces transport-related emissions. Choose produce in season, as it requires fewer inputs to grow, enhancing sustainability.
Reduce Food Waste: Wasted food in landfills produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Use all parts of vegetables for stocks, compost scraps, and freeze leftovers to make food last longer.
Prioritize Sustainable Products: Select organic products to reduce pesticide use, particularly for items on the "Dirty Dozen" list. If buying dairy, consider alternatives, as cow's milk has a higher environmental impact; oat milk is a sustainable choice due to its lower water and land usage.
Choose Sustainable Seafood: If eating fish, look for sustainable certifications, which ensure fishing practices that don't harm marine ecosystems.

4 Ways to Celebrate Earth Day with Food
4 Ways to Celebrate Earth Day with Food
This post was written by Heinen’s partner, Halle Snavely.

As a child, I celebrated Earth Day by planting trees with my kindergarten class, but as I’ve grown up and become more knowledgeable about environmental issues, I’ve realized that there are innumerable ways to celebrate this planet earth that we are lucky enough to call home. My favorite way to celebrate? With food, of course!

This may seem obvious, but it’s worth noting that your food does not originate on the grocery store shelf. A lot happens before it reaches the store and lands in your grocery cart. Most important is the part where it actually grows in the soil, under the sun and is tended by a farmer.

This idyllic farm scene used to be the norm, but as our food system became more industrialized following WWII, the way we farm became an increasing source of harm for the environment.

Today, our food system is sometimes the victim of environmental issues and sometimes the cause of them. For example, by some estimates, our food is up to 50% less nutritious today than it was in 1950 due to soil depletion and aggressive use of pesticides like Roundup. The droughts in California also make for an uncertain future in the state that produces the vast majority of food for the entire country.

The good news is, we have the power to influence which way the pendulum swings by buying foods that support the environment rather than harm it. Below are a few ways you can celebrate Earth Day with your food choices.

Buy Local when Possible. Local food is fresher and often of higher quality. It also travels a shorter distance between the farm and the grocery store and spends less time sitting in storage or being passed between hands during transit. Plus, knowing the farmer brings peace of mind of knowing how your food was produced. Heinen’s goes above and beyond to source local produce as much as possible and has built trusting, longstanding relationships with local farmers that meet their rigorous quality standards.

Local Produce Auction
Meat is Not the Enemy. Meat has unfortunately gained a reputation of being bad for the environment, but according to numerous studies, when raised properly, meat actually has a positive environmental impact. Most grass-fed and pasture-raised meats would fall into this category. Heinen’s has an extensive selection of grass-fed and pasture-raised meat options, and goes the extra mile to build relationships with farmers and ranchers that focus on raising animals in an environmentally responsible way.

Brandt Beef Cattle Farmers in Field
Buy Organic when you Can. There is a lot of confusion on this topic, so here’s the quick rundown. Organic food is better for the environment because it uses fewer toxic pesticides than conventional food. While it can be more expensive, that isn’t always the case. That said, if price is a consideration when you’re shopping for produce, make sure you’re informed on organics. Use the Environmental Working Group’s Clean 15 and Dirty Dozen lists to learn which types of produce consistently test for high levels of pesticides and which don’t. The produce included on the Clean 15 list are generally fine to buy conventional, as they have consistently tested for low levels of pesticides. For the products on the dirty dozen list, prioritize organic if it is available, as those have consistently tested for high levels of pesticides. The EWG just released their 2022 lists, so make sure to check them out.

Organic Produce
Buy Oat Milk if you Avoid Dairy. Oat milk is the superstar that blows all the other plant-based milks off the charts on eco-friendly metrics. It uses the least amount of water, less land and it has an impressive nutritional profile. Oats are a cover crop (plants that are intended to cover soil rather than be harvested), and 50-90% have historically been used for animal feed prior to the oat milk explosion. Needless to say, there is no need to worry about putting stress on the supply chain. Plus, unlike many of its plant-based milk counterparts, oat milk is incredibly thick like real milk, and it froths, making it ideal for lattes.

Oat Milk
So, feel free to plant a tree this Earth Day, but remember, the earth deserves our attention more than once a year. If you’re looking to make more earth friendly decisions, your food choices are a great place to start!

11 Easy Ways to Celebrate Earth Day Every Day
Think of April 22nd as the kickoff!

1. Make your next meal with food on hand
Worldwide, about a third of the food we produce goes uneaten, which generates up to 10 percent of all global greenhouse gas emissions. To put that into perspective, the aviation industry generates about 2.6 percent of emissions.

The following adaptable recipes will help you cook the food on hand:

Pizza. Choose traditional red sauce or pesto or hummus and then layer on random vegetables. Or top your pizza with leftover spaghetti (yes, that’s a thing).

Pastry. Fill a galette, hand pies or tarts with still-edible fruit that has seen better days. Or fill your pastry with savory vegetables and leftover protein.

Potpie. Because you need more pastry in your life. Make a béchamel sauce, thin it out with scrap vegetable broth, sauté some vegetables, combine everything, pour into a baking dish, top with pastry, bake, enjoy. (The recipe is in my book.)

Grain bowls. If I have cooked beans and cooked grains on hand, I can make a satisfying dish in minutes. I chop up a few vegetables—cooked beets and sprouts I start on the counter are a couple of favorites—toss everything with some wine vinegar and good olive oil, sprinkle with salt and I’m done.

Roasted vegetables. Cut excess vegetables into bite-size pieces, toss in olive oil, spread in cast-iron pans (because they clean up so easily) or baking sheets, sprinkle with salt and smashed garlic and roast at 400°F until tender (cooking times depend on the vegetables). Enjoy as a side dish or add to a frittata or a pot of roasted vegetable soup or fill those hand pies I mentioned above.

When food does go to waste, it belongs in a compost bin. Go here for more on composting.

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2. Eat more vegetables (and fruit)



I have given several talks during Earth Month on sustainable cooking. The short version of my talks goes as follows: Eat lots of vegetables. (While that advice sounds simple, not everyone can adhere to it in our unjust, industrial food system.)

The meat-centric Western—increasingly global—diet accounts for about 20 percent of global emissions according to the Drawdown website. Other sources put that number as high as 60 percent. Whatever the figure, I doubt it comes as a surprise that growing and harvesting a pound of lentils impacts the environment less than producing the equivalent amount of beef.

If you load up on fresh produce when shopping, you’ll likely bring home much less plastic—fruit and vegetables have their own packaging.

3. Eat food in season
My mom in Canada once asked me why the California strawberries she buys up there have no flavor. I told her they taste delicious here (in the summer) because they travel fewer than 100 miles to our market, unlike her 2,500-mile berries.

Food that travels long distances by truck or plane, sometimes in energy-intensive refrigerated holds, begins its voyage unripe and, upon arrival, undergoes gassing with ethylene (a plant hormone) to induce ripening. And even though I can buy local strawberries in winter, those grow in energy-intensive hothouses.

Eating seasonally engenders respect for food. We also appreciate seasonal foods more when they finally appear after a long wait. And the taste can’t be beat. Go here for a list of what’s in season, when, in the US.

4. Plant a bit of food
If you have a spot outside or a sunny windowsill inside, consider growing herbs. Usually, you need only a few sprigs of an herb but must buy a full bunch—and they head south quickly. Sometimes you must buy them in plastic clamshells. Growing herbs will save money, reduce packaging and food miles, add wonderful flavor and provide the satisfaction that comes from growing food yourself.

Go here for info on regrowing basil from sprigs and green onions from scraps.

5. Use less plastic—easy as ABC (and D)
Plastic is composed primarily of fossil fuel chemicals. As we electrify our grids and cars, Big Oil needs a new market. So it has been pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into building more plants to produce plastic. Like burning fossil fuels for energy (and some plastics are burned for energy), plastic contributes to climate change.

The following are pretty painless to cut:

a. Plastic produce bags and shopping bags
You can buy reusable cloth produce bags at health food co-ops, eco-shops and online. Or sew very simple produce bags if you prefer. Stash your produce bags in your shopping bags so you’ll have them when you need them.

b. Bottled water
Of course, you can’t drink unsafe water. But clever marketing—not need—motivates millions and millions of Americans to buy bottled water. According to Food & Water Watch, 64 percent of bottled water is merely filtered municipal tap water. Not only that, a liter of bottled water may contain up to 240,000 tiny pieces of plastic.

Avoid drinking plastic by packing a reusable water bottle or mason jar. If you prefer to drink and cook with filtered water, install a water filtration system in your home.

c. Takeaway coffee cups
Thin plastic lines the inside of paper to-go cups to prevent coffee and tea from leaking all over your shirt. But hot water and plastic are a nightmare combo. Bring a ceramic mug or a thermos to your café. Or brew your caffeine fix at home, pour it in a thermos, take it on the go and save a small fortune every month.

d. Plastic wrap
Have half an onion? Store it cut-side down on a plate. Didn’t polish off the pasta salad? Cover the bowl with a plate. As your bread dough ferments or proofs in a bowl, put a plate on top, not plastic wrap. Go here for 50 ways to kick plastic.

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6. Buy nothing new
Earth Overshoot Day marks the date by which humanity has consumed all the resources that the planet can regenerate in one year. In 2023, Earth Overshoot Day fell on August 2nd. That left us nothing to live on from (most of) August through to December, which means we borrowed against the future. This year, we’ll borrow again. We’re in the red. Our account is overdue. The bill collectors keep calling.

When you want to buy something, wait
In a 2017 New York Times article that Ann Patchett wrote about her year of no shopping, she offered this advice:

In March I wished I had a Fitbit, the new one that looked like a bracelet and didn’t need to be connected to a smartphone. For four days I really wanted a Fitbit. And then — poof! — I didn’t want one. I remember my parents trying to teach me this lesson when I was a child: If you want something, wait awhile. Chances are the feeling will pass.

And if the feeling doesn’t pass, sometimes what you need simply turns up (eventually). It’s that whole ask-the-Universe thing. This happens to me on a regular basis.

Join a Buy Nothing group this Earth Day
If you don’t already belong to a Buy Nothing group, consider joining one. Not only can you request things you want and need, you’ll also find takers for the stuff you want to unload.

7. Plant natives to regenerate biodiversity



California poppies and rock phacelia blooming where a lawn once grew
Until recently, like most North American yards, non-native plants dotted the perimeter of ours. That means native insects that evolved to eat native plants had nothing to eat. No food for insects meant less food for our feathered friends. A bird landing in our yard in search of food was like me grocery shopping in a clothing store. But in two short years, I’ve filled the yard with natives: ceanothus, goldenrod, small-for-now oaks, buckwheat, California fuchsia, blue-eyed grass, coffee berry and more. (The poppies just happen if you let them.)

If you wonder what you can do about the extinction crisis and the climate crisis, planting natives addresses both. Natives provide habitat for wildlife and require less water and fewer pesticides. If you don’t have a yard of your own, look for a community initiative that gets more native plants into the ground. Go here to search for native plants in the US by zip code.

8. Find out if your electricity provider offers green energy
Choosing renewable energy sources for US household electricity may be a money-saving click or two away. According to Energy.gov, at least half of all utility customers in the US can now buy renewable energy for their homes through their power supplier.

To make the switch, log into your account with your utility company and switch to green electricity if your provider offers it. If you have trouble finding information on your utility’s website, call and ask for help. Or do an online search with the terms “switch electricity to clean energy [YOUR CITY].”

You do not necessarily have to own your home to make the switch. If you rent an apartment in a complex with individually metered units, you can switch easily. If your entire complex shares one meter, talk to your landlord about making the switch.

9. Push for greener policies at work
Imagine the impact your company could make by implementing climate solutions into its business operations, its products or services, its 401k program and so on. With nearly one in three Americans worried about global warming, at least some of your coworkers will want to work together to urge your employer to take action.

Does your company already have a green team? Join it! What does it do on climate? Find out. If your company doesn’t have a team, consider forming one and figuring out who in your company has the influence to make your proposed changes happen.

The following excellent guides will help you and your coworkers start a group:

ClimateVoice’s how-to guide

Climate Solutions at Work from Drawdown

50+ Ways to Drive Sustainability, created by planetgroups.net

Share Zero-Waste Chef

10. Join a climate-focused organization
The most important thing an individual can do is be a little less of an individual and join together with others in movements large enough to make change.

Bill McKibben, 350.org founder

We have the solutions at hand to prevent the worst effects of climate change—and many of them are being implemented now. What we lack is the political will to ramp up these solutions at the necessary speed. By getting involved with a climate-focused organization, you’ll work with other concerned citizens to collectively pressure governments to adopt the kinds of policies we need.

The following are just some of the many grassroots organizations pushing for climate action. A few of the groups on the US-centric list are international. Please join one (or join one not listed here) and get involved, donate money if you can or do both.

350.org

Citizens’ Climate Lobby

Climate Reality Project

Indigenous Environmental Network

Indigenous Climate Action

NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program

Natural Resources Defense Council

Protect Our Winters (POW Europe)

Sierra Club & Beyond Coal Campaign

Sunrise Movement

11. Be kind this Earth Day (and every day!)
We won’t stop trashing the planet unless we stop trashing each other. But our economic system rewards both behaviors. Disposable everything boosts profits for petrochemical companies that make plastic; after you toss it, you must buy a replacement. The petrochemical plants that make the plastic regard the people living nearby as disposable—predominantly people living in poverty or people of color—who die of cancer at much higher rates. Vitriol about climate change boosts engagement on social media, and thus eyeballs and ad revenues.

The ethos of an economic system built upon exploitation, extraction and competition, and in which we all must operate, can’t help but have at least some impact on how we treat each other—and especially on how we treat those who orbit outside our inner circles. I don’t know how to solve this problem but I do know that we need to be kind to one another—and to ourselves.

So for this last Earth Day action, let’s go out of our way to do something kind. That act of kindness might be listening to a struggling friend; or washing a neighbor’s sink full of dishes; or calling mom to say hello.

Kindness doesn’t cost anything. It’s infectious. And showing kindness can benefit us with “greater well-being, health and longevity.”

Of course, you can choose from many other actions. Happy Earth Day!

How to Eat for Earth Day…and Beyond
Earth Day is a call-to-action, an urgent reminder that the fate and future of our planet is within our control. If we act together it’s possible to correct course and preserve our Earth and fragile global ecosystem.

 Greenhouse gas emissions have reached dangerous levels, threatening our planet and way of life. We see examples of climate change every day: rising sea levels, hotter temperatures, species extinction, and an increase in extreme weather conditions and events. With all these natural disasters unfolding in front of us, it’s hard to deny that the future is at risk.

 And while sources of greenhouse gas emissions vary, one of the greatest contributors is the livestock industry, which alone makes up an estimated 14.5% of all global greenhouse gas emissions from human activities—more than the entire transportation sector combined.

 Climate change may seem like an insurmountable obstacle, but there’s a lot that you can do as an individual — and as part of a broader community — to make an impact. This Monday, learn how you can shop, cook, eat, and educate to help protect the planet.



Eat More Sustainable Foods
In 2019, the World Wildlife Foundation identified their top 50 foods for a sustainable future. These foods, which include greens, tubers, nuts, seeds, pulses, mushrooms, and vegetables, are all nutrient-dense and environmentally friendly. This Monday, look through our list of sustainable foods and consider adding some to your shopping cart during your next supermarket run.



Adopt Meatless Monday
Well, this is an easy one. Plant-based eating contributes to healthy, sustainable food practices. Shifting to a more plant-based diet has the potential to help decrease agricultural land use by as much as 80 percent. Plus, it’s good for your health. Incorporating Meatless Monday into your diet is easy, and it can be a fun way to experiment with new ingredients, cuisines, and cooking techniques.



Cut Food Waste by Making Food Last Longer
Wasted food is the single largest category of material in municipal landfills, which also produces greenhouse gases contributing to climate change. Storing food in glass containers, buying frozen fruits and vegetables, understanding expiration dates, and freezing leftovers are just a handful of the many things you can do to keep more food out of the trash can and in your belly.



Compost
When you don’t compost your food waste, it’s almost always sent to the landfill with the other garbage. The problem is that much of this organic material rots when it isn’t disposed of properly, releasing methane and carbon dioxide in the process. These greenhouse gases trap heat and make the planet warmer. Composting has other benefits as well: it helps control erosion, improves soil health, and contributes to revitalizing local water sources. Some cities have compost drop off stations, and there are also a number of DIY composting projects you can do to make composting at home easier.



Try Meat Alternatives
Finding alternatives to your favorite meaty foods is an excellent approach to reducing your meat consumption and environmental footprint. And thanks to some clever home cooks, there’s a number of different ways you can recreate meat-centric dishes and ingredients using only plant-based foods, whether it’s pork, beef, chicken, bacon, or the most craveable comfort foods.



Stock Your Pantry with Foods that Won’t Go Bad
Every food item will eventually go bad, but there are many food staples that offer a terrific value, can be prepared in big batches, and have an incredibly long shelf-life. Some of these ingredients can serve as the centerpiece of a meal, like potatoes, beans, and pasta, while others act as supporting actors, providing quick bursts of flavor to ordinary dishes. Browse our list of plant-based ingredients that won’t go bad, and pick some up on your next food shop.



Be an Advocate for Delicious (Sustainable) Food
According to our research, many people find it difficult to reduce their meat consumption and eat more plant-based foods because their friends and family do not want to eat meatless meals. Help break down the myths and misconceptions around protein, nutrition, and taste by sharing great tasting plant-based meals.