Local, seasonal, less meat: Reduce the carbon footprint of your food

If you want to eat in a climate-friendly way, you don't have to give up meat completely. But if possible, it should come from regional animals kept in organic-level conditions. Photo: Stefan Jaitner/dpa

Fewer plane trips, using public transport and careful use of water are well-known ways to help combat climate change – but too many of us forget just how much a difference we can make by altering our eating habits.

Eating less meat and buying organic food sums it up, says Michael Bilharz of Germany's Federal Environment Agency. "We should definitely eat less meat," says author Malte Rubach, though he adds,"no one has to become an ascetic."