This article originally appeared in Food52.
With the news this month that Eleven Madison Park, by some measures the most famous restaurant in the world, has gone vegan, I think it’s safe to say climate-conscious menu planning has gone mainstream. Queries for vegan recipes now regularly top Google food searches and any number of plant-based meat replacements are now widely available at American supermarkets, potentially pairing with millions of tons of emissions off of our meals.
But as the notion of putting the country on a climate diet gains traction, we’re coming to the realization that food choices can only take us so far. If we’re aiming to hit President Biden’s net-zero emissions goal for the country by 2050, we’re going to need to reimagine entire systems that we use in our day-to-day life. A major system that we can collectively remake is the one in our kitchen.
So let’s talk about that kitchen. How can we cook in the greenest way possible? There are actually quite a few things we can do both in terms of our daily routines as well as how we equip our kitchens. And, yes, I know you’re busy. You don’t need another flight of tasks to do in getting dinner on the table. So let’s start small and build to big. Step-by-step you can get your kitchen to a much greener place. Here’s a roadmap.