Home / Guides / Eat more plants
FOOD · Action guide

Eat more plants

Shift meals toward plants at a scale that works for you — from one reliable favourite to changing what is served around you.

Begin with one mealBuild a new routineBring others along
Choose your level

One direction. Three ways to act.

Start where it feels realistic. The levels are not scores — they are different scales of action, from something you can change yourself to something you can build with others.

1Level 1

Start Small, Go Mighty

Make one recurring meal plant-rich

Choose a meal you already eat often — a curry, pasta, chilli, soup or bowl — and make the plant-rich version your default.

  • Start with familiarityAdapt something you already like instead of reinventing your whole diet.
  • Build around proteinUse beans, lentils, chickpeas, tofu, tempeh, nuts or seeds so the meal stays satisfying.
  • Use what you buyPlan around ingredients already in your fridge and freezer so the shift does not create more waste.
2Level 2

Go Bigger, Get Bolder

Change the pattern, not just one plate

Make plant-rich food the normal choice across a meaningful part of your week — for example weekday lunches or most dinners.

  • Choose a repeatable ruleSet a simple default such as plant-rich weekday lunches or three plant-based dinners each week.
  • Expand your staplesLearn a handful of flexible recipes based on legumes, grains, vegetables and plant proteins.
  • Cut waste with the same systemPlan, store and reuse leftovers so fewer resources are spent on food that is never eaten.
3Level 3

Team Up for More

Make plant-rich food easier for more people

Move beyond your own plate by changing the options in a shared setting — at work, school, events, clubs or among friends.

  • Ask for a better defaultEncourage a canteen, meeting or event to make a good plant-rich option standard rather than exceptional.
  • Cook and shareHost a meal, recipe swap or lunch where people can try satisfying plant-rich food without pressure.
  • Improve the systemSupport procurement and menu choices that make plant-rich, lower-waste food easy to choose every day.

Why this can help

Climate ChangeLand-System ChangeBiosphere IntegrityFreshwater ChangeBiogeochemical Flows

Food production links land, climate, water, nutrients and biodiversity. The effect of any meal depends on ingredients and farming systems, but shifting demand toward plant-rich foods and wasting less can reduce several pressures at once.

Personal action matters most when it connects to wider change. The third level is deliberately collective: many planetary pressures are shaped by shared infrastructure, organisations, neighbourhoods and public decisions — not by individual choices alone.