Vegetables, grains, leafy greens, garlic, broccoli, fruit, and nuts

Plant-Based Eating

Font Size: + -

Feedback Print

Adopting a plant-based diet can reduce your personal impact on climate change, benefit your health, and help protect our natural environment.

A plant-based diet focuses on fruit, vegetables, whole grains, beans, seeds, and nuts and limits animal products like dairy, eggs, and meat. And, you don’t have to give up all meat & dairy to make positive environmental impacts and benefit your health. Instead, you can adjust your approach to fit meet your needs and preferences.

You might eat only plant foods and follow a vegetarian or vegan diet.
You may choose a more flexible way of eating that includes eggs, dairy, or meat from time to time.
Or, you can start with smaller changes like eating meat-free meals or practicing Meatless Mondays or Moo-less Mondays and gradually develop your healthy & sustainable eating habits from there.

Health & Environmental Benefits

Reducing consumption of animal products can improve your health while signiﬁcantly lowering the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced by your individual diet.

Health beneﬁts include a reduced risk of coronary heart disease, cancer, and Alzheimer's disease. A plant-based diet can also be used as a tool to treat conditions such as diabetes and high cholesterol.

Eating mostly plant-based foods also beneﬁts the environment, especially when combined with eating and shopping local.

Meat production has high environmental consequences, accounting for 14 to 18% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Stanford University Woods Institute for the Environment.

Plant-based foods account for 10 to 50 times less greenhouse gas emissions than animal products, as reported by a 2022 Our World in Data study.

Even Small Changes Make a Difference

According to a 2019 study by John Hopkins University, substituting meat with plant-based foods just one day per week can:

Reduce your diet-related greenhouse gas footprint by nearly 5%.
Reduce your annual carbon footprint as much as not driving your car for an entire month.

Reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 1.3 Gigatons with worldwide participation — this is equivalent to taking 273 million cars off the road.

Comparing Impacts of Food Production

Plant-Based Eating in the City’s Climate Action Plan

Part 1 of the City's Climate Action Plan — the Community Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Plan — highlights how food choices can significantly affect greenhouse gas emissions.

Beef and dairy have a much larger carbon footprint than most plant-based foods due to the large number of resources needed to produce them. The Plan includes initiatives like “Moo-Less Monday,” which encourages our community to avoid beef and dairy one day per week.
The Plan also addresses food waste and encourages recycling and composting to reduce the need for fertilizer and decrease the amount of methane gas produced by food that is thrown away in landfills.

These simple actions can reduce the environmental impact of our eating choices and support a healthier community.

Getting Started: Plant-Based Eating & Your Daily Life

Adopting a plant-based diet may seem overwhelming, but it doesn't have to be. You can incorporate it into your lifestyle through a variety of simple steps.

Simple Tips for Plant-Based Eating

Swap out dairy milk for alternatives such as almond milk, oat milk, or soy milk.
Add more fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes to your meals.
Choose plant-based desserts, such as sorbet, instead of dairy-based ice cream.
Look for plant-based versions of your favorite meals! What can you substitute for ingredients you normally use?
Eat at local restaurants that oﬀer vegan and vegetarian options.
Make one or two meat-free meals a week.
Try diﬀerent plant-based protein options, such as broccoli, chickpeas, spinach, tofu, tempeh, seitan, as well as beans, legumes, nuts, and seeds.

It’s important to remember that you don't have to completely change your usual eating habits — small adjustments can make a big difference and help support your goal.

Where to Eat & Shop in Hillsboro

Many local restaurants in Hillsboro oﬀer plant-based menu items. Check the menu at your favorite restaurant to see what options are available!

Restaurants, food carts, and farmers market booths featuring the following cuisines are likely to offer vegan & vegetarian items:

Indian
Middle Eastern
Ethiopian
Mediterranean
Vietnamese
Japanese
Chinese
Thai
Mexican & Latin American (beans can often be substituted for meat)

Farmers Markets

Visit local farmers markets to enjoy a meal and shop for locally grown fruits and vegetables.

Recipes & Resources

Recipes & Ingredients

Visit the websites below for recipes, ingredients lists, and cooking inspiration.

Forks Over Knives: Plant-Based Recipes & Meal Planner
It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken: Quick & Easy Vegan Recipes
Eat Plant-Based: Healthy Recipes, Guides, and Resources
The Simple Veganista: Easy & Healthy Recipes for Every Meal

Resources

Check out Web MD's Plant-Based Diet Tips for Beginners.
Read the Our World in Data article on reducing the carbon footprint of your food.
Read Harvard Health's Publishing's March 2024 article, "What is a plant-based diet and why should try it?" for a quick overview.
Take a deep dive into the science of sustainable eating with "Exploring Benefits and Barriers and Barriers of Plant-Based Diets," a 2023 article published in MDPI's Nutrients journal.

Thank You to YAC's Climate Resiliency & Sustainability Subcommittee!

Members of the 2025-26 Youth Advisory Council Climate Resiliency & Sustainability Subcommittee This webpage was created by the 2025-26 Hillsboro Youth Advisory Council's (YAC) Climate Resiliency & Sustainability Subcommittee.

Members — pictured left to right — include:

Ozzie Křížek
Aanandhi Ganesh
Parker Brown
Brigette Harrington
Annabelle Bailey

The Hillsboro Youth Advisory Council educates, engages, and empowers high school students from the Hillsboro community by providing them with opportunities to actively participate in local government, develop leadership skills, and make a positive impact in their community.

The Climate Resiliency & Sustainability Subcommittee focuses specifically on creating more sustainable solutions to environmental challenges in our community, increasing local, equitable, and easily-accessible climate education, and raising awareness on how community members can get involved with climate sustainability.