At Drawdown Dietetics, we’ve said to ourselves over and over that we can’t let climate-friendly eating become another fad diet or passing trend. We want this to be a weight-inclusive movement that does not contribute to disordered eating. But how do we do that? The culture of sustainable food comes with so many differing, conflicting messages, some that seem impossible to follow because there are so many different trade-offs. Food miles, monocultures, regenerative agriculture, plastic packaging, etc, etc. It’s a very noisy space to work in, and we’re worried that if we’re not careful, this could generate a type of environmentally-motivated orthorexia (and likely already has). This month, we wanted to start a conversation on this topic, as we’re not aware of existing resources on the issue (if you know of one, please share!).
In her book Anti-Diet, RD Christy Harrison writes about how her interest in “food activism” started to mimic her previous disordered eating:
“I would agonize for hours over whether to buy the nonorganic local kale or the organic bunch that had been shipped cross-country, the “processed” gluten-free granola bar or the “small-batch” bar with gluten, the grass-fed whole milk from the farmers’ market or the “industrial” vegan milk from the grocery store.”
This is a nightmare scenario for us. Climate-friendly eating should be as simple as possible, and not cause unnecessary anxiety. Last month we wrote about collective action problems and the importance of being strategic to avoid this exact kind of trap. As much as possible, we want climate-friendly eating to be an inclusive movement, while still effectively mitigating climate change (in aggregate, at the population level).
This is why we’re clear about what does not help address climate change (local food, organic food), as well as what does (reduced food waste, plant-rich diets). We hope this helps people to let go of assumptions that may be causing anxiety and not doing much (or anything) for the climate. But we’re still concerned about giving people more food rules or anxieties, so we talked to Nat Quathamer to investigate further. Nat (They/Them, ask before using other pronouns), is a queer, non-binary white settler living in K’jipuktuk, Nova Scotia. They are a registered dietitian in eating disorder recovery and currently work at a provincial non-profit improving food environments for children and youth, both for their well-being and that of the planet. In their free time, Nat volunteers with local grassroots environmental organizations, as a peer support worker for trans folks with eating disorders, and nationally around child and youth health.
Thanks so much to Nat for sharing their time and perspective on this under-investigated topic! This is longer than our usual blog post length. The conversation has been edited and condensed, but we kept most of the discussion in because we found it helpful and thought you might, too!
Tell me a bit about your interest in food and sustainability.
My interest in food was deeply rooted in my eating disorder–that’s why I got into dietetics in the first place. In terms of sustainability, I’ve always been someone deeply connected with nature. We didn’t really talk a ton about sustainability and food in school but I had a lot of friends in environmental classes, because I went to the environmental and agricultural campus of McGill University, so I learned a lot from them. And then when I came to Halifax, I started working at an environmental charity as my first job out of school. It’s developed from there, it’s something I hold near and dear to my heart, and I think there are tons of intersections with food and sustainability that we don’t talk about enough, so I’m really glad to be having this conversation. And really glad that Drawdown Dietetics exists!
Have you encountered disordered eating in sustainability movements or messaging?
I want to be clear that these are just a few of the general messages that I’ve personally seen, that I’ve interpreted through my lens as someone who is committed to living a more sustainable life–and who is in eating disorder recovery. I’m not an expert in that either, so I’m just speaking from my personal experience.
Overall, I’ve found that food messaging from sustainability movements isn’t very aware of the trauma that many folks have around food. Whether that be around experiencing food insecurity, or micro-aggressions around weight, or cultural foods, or as we’re chatting about today, experiences of disordered eating or eating disorders.
Here are two examples of direct messages I’ve seen. The first one is “cut out x” or “reduce your intake of y.” For me, with my lens, these messages sound very similar to messages from diet culture, especially to someone with a brain that has the pathways really well drawn. Another one is “this is the easiest change that you can make, and everyone can do it!” Regardless of eating disorders, this isn’t the case, because of income, access, all those things. But from an eating disorder lens, making dietary changes can be incredibly challenging and potentially life-threatening. So I’m always waiting for an article that has a little star that says “everyone can do it, except…” I get that you need pithy, absorbable messages, but that shouldn’t be at the expense of people who are marginalized.
And then there are some indirect messages–things that you understand you have to do to fulfill the direct messages. One of them being hyper-focussing on your food, like where it comes from, who produced it, all these sorts of things, which isn’t a safe practice from an eating disorder perspective. I think it’s important that people know about the systems in place around food, but I don’t want people to be so focused on it that it’s harming their health.
Yes. I think that because there are a million possible sustainability actions, you could spend your life trying to minimize your impact in every area, and I think it’s just a waste of time when we could be out protesting or having a higher-level action.
It’s interesting you say that because my second indirect message is that you have to take a perfectionistic, all-or-nothing approach. A very common theme in eating disorders is having to “eat perfectly,” and so this can be very triggering.
Then I think unfortunately there is an indirect message that people who consume more food are a bigger burden on the planet. This creates so much shame for those in larger bodies, because society seems to think that the only reason someone can have a larger body is due to overconsumption, which is absolutely untrue, or for those experiencing binge eating disorders, and also fuel for an ED brain for those that are experiencing restrictive eating disorders.
Overall, I think people being aware of how food intersects with sustainability is an incredibly important step in creating a livable future, but would like to see more balanced messaging that recognizes that you don’t have to have an all-or-nothing approach, and that this is just not suitable for certain people. There are many other things that you can try that have nothing to do with your personal food intake, that can have a positive impact on the environment. Voting for candidates with strong environmental agendas, greener packaging for food, learning to grow, forage, and glean your own food, reducing food waste, etc etc. These are just examples and they aren’t going to be accessible for everyone, but there are options that are available for everyone that don’t have to do with what you put in your mouth.
Our three main recommendations at Drawdown Dietetics are plant-rich diets (we don’t use plant-based, or vegan, or vegetarian, or anything that implies exclusions, but we are still worried about adding to diet culture), then there’s reduced food waste, and composting. Do you think that reduced food waste and composting have the potential to factor into disordered eating?
This is just my opinion, but I don’t mind plant-rich as it doesn’t imply exclusion as you said. Food waste could in theory intersect with disordered eating, because it is potentially impacting what is going into someone’s mouth, and someone may take that as an opportunity to eat less, to waste less food, or put less food in your fridge. Reducing food waste also isn’t going to be accessible for everyone; a single parent with kids is going to have a different experience than someone like me who can go to the grocery store or market every few days and only has to feed one person.
I also think from an organizational perspective, it’s ok to evolve and change messaging. That’s showing that you’re growing with the times. It’s never going to be perfect, because perfect doesn’t exist. I find it deeply complicated and conflicting, because I want humans to survive, but I also want to make sure we’re not causing harm and trauma.
Absolutely. Last month we looked at collective action problems, and the way that focusing the problem all on governments and corporations or all on individuals isn’t helpful. We thought through how we don’t have to feel guilty when there are things that we just can’t do or access at the time [as individuals]. But where are the things that I can do that will make the most difference, and not worry about the rest, or in a way that’s harmful.
I think it’d be really interesting to discuss climate anxiety more, because I think food has become a way to help alleviate climate anxiety. I see that in a lot of younger folks–I’m in my twenties and definitely saw that a lot, especially in people who are in environmental programs and justice-oriented folks. I think having a conversation around climate anxiety is really crucial. Even if there was a webinar on how to talk to your kids about food and climate change without perpetuating disordered eating and diet culture, because I do find that the food messaging has some of those direct or indirect messages.
That’s great! Now that you’re saying it, the only media coverage of climate anxiety I’ve seen focuses on whether to have kids. I haven’t seen anything around that obsessive part of food, or explaining it to your kids.
What do you think is the connection between sustainability and disordered eating? Why is there a connection?
I actually don’t know if there is an inherent connection. It’s more the style of messaging, and the push towards a neoliberal individualistic approach versus a systems change approach. I do think personal change is part of the puzzle in building a livable future. But humans have been sold the idea that it’s us as individuals, and not corporations and governments (that historically and continually destroy the environment) who desperately need to change. The connection is that diet culture has stepped in and co-opted a lot of the messaging around sustainability to sell us products that are “carbon-neutral” and are “guilt-free” from an environmental lens.
The three main things are:
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Unbalanced messaging; not feeling like others in my position are being cared for, or even considered
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Morality; feeling like I should be doing these things, but conflicted with my recovery where I am actively trying to remove a moral label from food
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And then shame; feeling unable to participate safely in the ways that are being aggressively promoted, i.e. changing my personal intake and not being offered many alternatives.
Is there anything else you’d like to see?
I think it’s important for people to ask themselves why they are focusing on changing their personal food intake. Is this really from a sustainability lens, or is there a desire for the moral label, to be seen as a good person in society because you’re taking this action? Are you seeking a change in your body weight? Do you fear you’ll be ostracized from a certain group?
I think if you spoke to someone else they might have a completely different perspective, and this is part of a continual conversation to be having: how do we save the planet and not harm people? Particularly in communities that have historically and continue to be marginalized.
We’re all trying to not cause harm and make for a livable future, so I hope we can all come together and appreciate each other’s perhaps dissenting views for the common good.
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Thanks again Nat for helping us learn and grow!
One way we want to prevent this movement from becoming diet-y or rigid is to avoid romanticizing certain foods, lifestyles, or growing methods. We joined a panel recently where another panelist disparaged veggie burgers from fast food restaurants. The speaker implied that fast food is bad, so veggie burgers wouldn’t do anything (or enough) for the environment. From our perspective, this just seems untrue–if someone eats a lot of beef burgers and they switch to veggie burgers some of the time, that may well have more impact than if they spend all their time growing their own vegetables and preparing them at home every night with lots of food waste. We suspect that romanticizing about the past or a more “natural” way of eating is driving this assumption, and perhaps some of the perfectionism that we see in sustainability and health.
For climate-friendly eating to stick around, we’ll need to ensure people are not making drastic changes to their diets when it’s harming their mental health, that they can let go of things they don’t need to worry about, and that anyone who is experiencing disordered eating or is unable to make dietary changes is still included, not ostracized, and can simply focus on other mitigation strategies that are available to them, like composting their food waste or non-food actions. We also need to make sure that culturally important foods are respected, and that there are plenty of climate-friendly food options that give people pleasure and satisfaction.
As always, let us know what you think!
Anneke and Renita