King Charles' Climatarian Diet, Explained

As is evidenced by London's ranking as the best city in the world for vegan eating by Happy Cow, the British are becoming increasingly open-minded to more plant-focused diets. In fact, in 2022, research by Ipsos discovered that nearly half of the UK population is actively considering reducing their intake of animal products. According to Food Manufacture UK, surveys have shown that it's because many believe it's better for them and the planet — including England's most recently proclaimed monarch and climatarian, King Charles III.

As Signe Svanfeldt, nutritionist at Lifesum, told Express UK, a climatarian diet "encourages people to choose foods that have a reduced environmental impact and includes recipes that are plant- and meat-based." So, unlike other diets that prioritize personal health, a climatarian diet prioritizes the environment by taking note of how foods are produced, processed, and shipped to their final destinations (per Health). Without having to cut out any one food group entirely, a climatarian diet is one of the easiest meal plans to follow — and it just so happens to be good for you, too.

While vegan diets cut out animal products completely, the climatarian diet focuses on the ones that impact the environment the most: beef, lamb, goat, and unsustainable fish (via Climatarian). Followers of the diet substitute them with less harmful animal proteins such as eggs, pork, and poultry, as well as plant-based protein from root vegetables, lentils, beans, and whole grains, per Express UK. King Charles reportedly follows this regimen by abstaining from meat two days per week, and dairy one day per week. Most climatarians also avoid certain plant-based foods that are bad for the environment, such as out-of-season produce and anything transported via air or packaged in excessive amounts of plastic.

While it might sound a bit more complicated than cutting out meat altogether, Health claims that by simply eating fewer animal products, climatarians have an easier time sticking to the diet while still making a positive environmental impact. In fact, Climatarian states that in just a year of swapping lamb and beef for poultry or pork, you can save a ton of CO2. But, it also has benefits for you, too. As Svanfeldt told Express UK, "King Charles' love for plant-based food increases his dietary fibre, decreases saturated fats, and reduces his carbon footprint." According to Climatarian, this results in less risk for cancer, stroke, and heart disease.