The Environmental Benefits of Using Huel as a Meal Replacement
Huel has risen in popularity over the last few years due to its quick and easy preparation with all of the vitamins and minerals that you need.
Businesslive.co.uk reported in March 2022 that, ‘The company has revealed its sales increased to £103m in the 12 months to the end of July 2021, up from £72m in the prior year.’
But what is Huel’s impact on the environment?
As more and more people are focusing on trying to reduce their carbon footprint, being cautious of the brands that do their bit including reducing wastage and sustainable packaging are on the radar.
Read on to find out more about Huel’s impact…
The Environmental Impact of Food
What we as consumers eat and how these foods are produced, has a huge impact on the environment.
The United Nations said, ‘Food needs to be grown and processed, transported, distributed, prepared, consumed, and sometimes disposed of. Each of these steps creates greenhouse gases that trap the sun’s heat and contribute to climate change. About a third of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions is linked to food.’
The largest amount of greenhouse gases come from agriculture and land use, with the smaller amount of the share, from refrigeration and transport and the management of food waste.
Animal based foods are usually associated with the highest emissions as meat production requires large areas of land, cows and sheep emit methane and cattle waste used on crops also emit greenhouse gases.
Plant-based foods like fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans, peas, nuts, and lentils use less energy, land, and water, and have lower greenhouse gas emissions than animal-based foods.
Food related emissions can be reduced by leaning towards a plant based diet, alternative protein substitutes and reducing food waste wherever possible.
The United Nations also reported, ‘Almost 1 billion tons of food – 17 percent of all food available to consumers worldwide – goes into trash bins every year. Producing, transporting, and letting that food rot contribute more than 8 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. If food waste were a country, it would be the third-largest emitting country in the world.’
Sustainable food choices are incredibly important as when you throw food away, you’re wasting the energy, land, water, and fertiliser that was used to produce, package, and transport it. You can also reduce plastic pollution by shopping with a reusable bag and using more plant based products does less damage to the planet.
Huel’s Environmental Benefits Include:
- No food wastage
- Recyclable bottle
- Bottle made of 51% recyclable materials
- Vegan no animal products
- Shelf life of one year
- Cutting your carbon footprint by eating plant based
Huel's Low Carbon Footprint Compared to Traditional Food Options
Huel Ready-To-Drink has a low carbon footprint compared to traditional food options are it contains plant based ingredients, comes ready to drink meaning no wastage and in a recyclable bottle.
Huel states, ‘0.6kg CO2 e… is how much greenhouse gas is produced per every 400kcal serving of Huel Powder v.3 (Vanilla flavour). This makes Huel a low-carbon food, with 83% of carbon coming from our ingredients.’
Huel ready-to-drink includes minimal packaging as the bottles are made from 51% recycled materials and are fully recyclable following use. As the meal replacement is already prepared there is no waste, as well as the 12 month shelf life contributing to the sustainability.
Huel is made from plant-based sustainable ingredients like sunflower, coconut, oats, pea, rice and flaxseed.
How to Incorporate Huel into a Sustainable Lifestyle
Huel’s website advises, ‘50%… is what you could slash your carbon footprint by if you switch to two plant-based meals a day. Switching to just one could cut them by 35%.’
By supplementing you diet with Huel (not replacing all your meals with Huel) you can reduce your carbon footprint dramatically and lead a more sustainable and healthy lifestyle. With little to no waste, Huel is the perfect choice to reduce wastage and plan your meals ahead.
Tips For Reducing Environmental Impact in Food Choices
- Eat more plants
- Eat more variety
- Make responsible seafood choices
- Cut food wastage
- Grow your own food
- Look for products containing no palm oil
- Reduce plastic usage
- Eat seasonably
To improve your sustainable lifestyle dramatically, as well as replacing meals with Huel, you could source local and sustainable foods to improve your overall balanced diet. You might even find that swapping some of your existing meals or snack options with Huel will lead to weight loss.
Potential Risks and Side Effects
Huel is made up of plant-based ingredients, however some users can experience reactions as they begin adding the meal replacement to their diet.
The most common Huel side effects are:
- gas formation
- bowel problems
- digestive issues
- upset stomach
- bloating
- acid reflux
- heartburn
- headaches
- rash and skin problems
- brain disorders
- nausea
Most users don't experience any side effects at all as they are fairly uncommon. Those who do suffer the side effects usually find these disappear pretty quickly as their body adapts to the new diet.
The Verdict- Huel's Impact
Replacing one or two meals with Huel Ready-To-Drink bottles, can help you to reduce your carbon footprint of up to 50%.
As the largest amount of greenhouse gases come from agriculture and animal produce, switching to more plant based options can have a lot lower emissions.
Huel has little to no wastage with each bottle coming prepared in a recyclable bottle and a shelf life of 12 months.