Mangetout Momentum in Climate Action: Fin?

We've reached the end of the Mangetout Momentum journey which opens another door for me to another journey of sustainability.

The main lesson I learnt throughout these four weeks is being climate-friendly. Knowing my family's lifestyle, it is near to impossible to be vegetarians or vegans, but it doesn't mean that we are part of the climate change culprits. With some tolerance, there is a higher potential for us to adopt a climate-friendly diet without having to go completely vegan. All we have to do are some simple basic steps as smart consumers:

1. Cut down the amount of meat from our plate

2. Add more portions of plant-based dishes

3. Cut down the ingredients that have high foodprint for a climate-friendly dish

4. Cook just enough food for the family

5. Smart meal planning with the family

6. Make a grocery checklist before shopping

7. Proper storage of leftovers which have to be consumed soon

8. Make informed choices when consuming

It has been a challenging but fruitful one as I not only learnt new information on foodprint but also practised some climate-friendly actions with my family. In fact, as I am writing this, my parents asked about our meal schedule for the week, indicating that they are getting used to meal planning and climate-friendly dishes. I also got to try out some new climate-friendly recipes that I just made on top of my head, some of them would be part of my family's usual menu. I would also like to highlight that in all the meals involving these recipes, there weren't any beef, chicken or fish consumed. Instead our protein source came from tofus or eggs.

These are some of the achievements:

1. Cooked 13 climate-friendly dishes

2. This is equivalent to 13 mealtimes without any meat (6 beef dishes and 7 chicken dishes)

3. A total of 52.15kg CO2 emission saved derived from the Meat Calculator

4. Zero food waste

5. By drinking 1 litre of almond milk, instead of dairy milk, I saved approximately 2kg of CO2 emission per litre. If this continues for another 51 weeks, I would be saving approximately 104kg of CO2 emission. This is equivalent of driving a regular petrol car for approximately 427km.

*Disclaimer: Derived calculations may not be accurate due to different carbon footprint calculators.

Having seen these calculations gave me and my family a sense of achievement although our actions are considered small compared to others. That being said, it is not the end for us, at least for myself. Up to this date, I still cook climate-friendly meals as well as having a proper food inventory management. In the end, this challenge did not function solely as an assignment, but a small form of motivation - something that was needed to create consistency. Change is not immediate, but with consistency, change is possible.

Here's my favourite video as the closing for this chapter of the Mangetout Momentum in Climate Action, just to let you know that 'small changes to our diets can make big differences'.