The new year may still be struggling to change gear as a result of the ongoing pandemic, but two key trends have already emerged which are likely to shape the coming months, rooted in elements of environmental regeneration and climate conscious consumption.
Regenuary
What is a regenerative diet I hear you cry? Well, in short, it is all about eating food grown and reared using regenerative farming techniques. That means meat, fish and dairy are all permitted, and things such as avocados and soy are out. But, before we delve into the arguments for and against Reganuary (and Veganuary for that matter), it is worth giving a little background.
Roots of Regenuary
It all kicked off on social media (where else), when The Ethical Butcher, a London based butcher who promotes ethical, slow grown local meat, created the hashtag #reganuary. This was backed up with a blog post that asked the internet to "For a month, consider the impact of everything you eat and try to source as much as possible from regenerative agriculture, this works for a vegan or omnivorous diet".
Division
The post was not supposed to be divisive, instead, it asked if the vegan products, which can often have industrially processed soy at their heart or are sourced from as far away as South America, were as good for the planet than an omnivorous diet, that included non-vegan ingredients such as beef, sourced from small local producers who use regenerative farming techniques (phew!).
Climatarian Diet
The climatarian diet first appeared about 5 years ago as a response to global climate change. The diet's primary goal is to reverse climate change by focussing on foods that have the smallest carbon footprint. Some of these include eating locally produced food, eating less feedlot beef, buying organic, and using every part of the ingredients to cut down on food waste.
Carbon Labelling
Carbon footprint labelling has been a standard across many products and industries for a while now - electrical items such as washing machines perhaps the most obvious. However, food companies are starting to add carbon footprint labelling onto many of their products, that can help consumers manage their climatarian diet more effectively.
Why Now?
But why is a diet introduced 5 years ago trending now? Well, the focus on climate change and carbon reduction has accelerated exponentially recently. Last year's wildfires in Australia and California, coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic bringing to light much of the carbon waste of pre-lockdown life, have made people more aware of their impact on the planet. Moreover, documentaries such as David Attenborough's: A Life on Our Planet have shown the link between our diet and climate change.
To read our latest reports on Regenuary and Climatarian Diet in full click here & here or to find out about 'shifting the future of food & drink' and to join the TFP community visit www.thefoodpeople.co.uk