Sugar is sweet food

If you love sugar, you may not like this one. Sadly, sugar has one of the worst environmental footprints. WWF reveals that sugarcane is one of the most harmful crops for the planet2, as it replaces habitats rich in plant, insect, and animal life. 

Moreover, it requires the intensive use of land, water, and pesticides while causing soil erosion and deforestation.

Some deforested lands have lost their carbon content, and the carbon is now in the atmosphere, contributing to global warming. 

With this high climate impact, it is essential to look for a more sustainable sugar culture, including reducing our sugar consumption.

Cow’s milk

The dairy industry has had an adverse impact on our environment. Cow’s milk is not left out of the hazard. Data reveals that it has three times the impact of soy milk and uses much more land.

This is not to mention the production of methane - a harmful gas from cows. Cows also require feeds, which take up more resources. Overall, cow's milk isn’t the best type of milk for our environment. You can replace them with other plant-based options like oat and hazelnut milk.

Rice and other cereal grains

Rice and other types of cereal are a staple food for more than half of the world’s population. And while they are plant-based foods, they harm our environment. Rice fields release significant quantities of methane. According to research, we can link rice production1 up to 11% of the global methane emissions.

This makes rice production the largest producer of human methane, moving ahead of livestock production. Other cereals like corn and flour products also consume lots of resources like water and can also have an effect on plant biodiversity if not properly cultivated.

Chocolate

Yes, even our chocolate has a negative impact on the environment. While not many people eat large amounts of chocolate daily, dark chocolate has a significant carbon footprint on cocoa production, which consumes lots of resources like water, putting more strain on our natural ecosystem. 

Deforestation, child labor, and biodiversity loss are effects of cocoa production used in making chocolates. 

In addition, chocolate goes through several processes, including roasting, fermentation, grinding, adding milk, sugar, and vegetables, and other processes that contribute to increasing the environmental impact of chocolates. 

On the bright side, a few chocolate brands, like Beyond Good and Theo Chocolate, use Fair Trade-certified cocoa.

Bananas

Let’s talk about bananas. So, while bananas as a fruit don’t have as much environmental impact, the movement of bananas across countries worldwide has a significant environmental impact. 

Most people eat bananas, and as a result of increased consumption, leading countries of bananas like the Philippines and Costa Rica export lots of bananas to Europe. 

Sadly, these bananas and even other fruits and vegetables travel many miles before they reach a local grocery store in Europe. This process releases carbon emissions into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change.

Soybeans

Soybeans are another plant-based food that falls on our list of some of the worst foods for our environment. Farmers grow tons of soybeans, which largely go into producing soybean oil, livestock feed, and soy foods, including tofu and soy milk. 

Soybeans mainly grow in Latin America, and the high demand has led to deforestation. Also, during the production of the oil, manufacturers use chemicals that cause pollution and also release harmful gases.

Leafy greens

Vegetables like cabbages, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower have less environmental footprint than animal products like eggs. Leafy greens like spinach and kale are also great for the planet and you. 

Experts consider them one of the most sustainable foods on the market. These vegetables also require less resources to produce large quantities, making them good for the planet.

Tomato Fruit vegetables

Apart from leafy greens, vegetable-like fruits are also great both for the environment and for you. They contain high levels of carbohydrates and water when compared to greens. They also have high fiber and vitamin C.

These types of fruits grow in warm climates, and you can eat them in various forms. Some examples of fruit vegetables include tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, squash, etc. Apart from these types of fruits, citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, and grapes have a low impact, making them great for our environment.

Tubers

Tubers are high in carbohydrates and are great sources of energy. You can eat them in diverse forms. You can boil, bake, or mash them. A common type of tuber is potato. Tubers grow downwards and anchor the plant into the ground. 

In the ground, they absorb nutrients used during the drier months or in winter. Other examples of tubers include Ube or purple yam, Lotus root, Yam bean root, etc.

Edible mushrooms

Edible mushrooms are the fleshy fruit bodies  of numerous species of macrofungi (fungi  that bear fruiting structures large enough to be seen with the naked eye). Edibility may be defined by criteria including the absence of poisonous effects on humans and desirable taste and aroma. Mushrooms that have a particularly desirable taste are described as "choice". Edible mushrooms are consumed for their nutritional and culinary value. Mushrooms, especially dried shiitake, are sources of umami flavor.

A wide variety of edible mushrooms being sold by a vendor in San Juan Sacatepequez, Guatemala
To ensure safety, wild mushrooms must be correctly identified before their edibility can be assumed. Deadly poisonous mushrooms that are frequently confused with edible mushrooms include several species of the genus Amanita, particularly A. phalloides, the death cap. Some mushrooms that are edible for most people can cause allergic reactions  in others; old or improperly stored specimens can go rancid and cause food poisoning.[1] Additionally, mushrooms can absorb chemicals within polluted locations, accumulating pollutants and heavy metals  including arsenic and iron—sometimes in lethal concentrations.
Several varieties of fungi contain psychedelic  compounds—the magic mushrooms—while variously resembling non-psychoactive  species. The most commonly consumed for recreational use are Amanita muscaria (the fly agaric) and Psilocybe cubensis, with the former containing alkaloids such as muscimol  and the latter predominately psilocybin.
Edible mushrooms include many fungal species that are either harvested wild or cultivated. Easily cultivated and common wild mushrooms are often available in markets; those that are more difficult to obtain (such as the prized truffle, matsutake, and morel) may be collected on a smaller scale and are sometimes available at farmers' markets or other local grocers. Despite long-term use in folk medicine, there is no scientific evidence  that consuming "medicinal mushrooms" cures or lowers the risk of human diseases.