Is it better for the planet?
Livestock consumes freshwater twice over — for hydration and for irrigated feed crops. Eating lower on the food chain removes that multiplier.
College of DuPage · Biology Sustainability Project
Eating for the Earth: A 30-Day Plant-Based Transition
Welcome to my Biology Sustainability Project. What started as a class assignment has evolved into a fully tracked, data-backed journey toward a smaller environmental footprint. Over 30 days I meticulously tracked my grocery data, eliminated food waste, and transitioned entirely to a lower-water-footprint, plant-based diet.
30Days tracked
$57.86Saved per month
16%Lower grocery bill
3,000Daily calories hit
My Mission
Sustainable eating that is accessible, physical, and affordable.
My mission is to demonstrate that transitioning to a sustainable, plant-based diet is not only crucial for reducing global carbon and water footprints, but is also highly accessible, physically sustainable, and economically beneficial.
By open-sourcing my meal plans and data trackers, I aim to equip the community with the tools to make environmentally conscious dietary choices that minimize food waste and optimize personal health. Everything here — the pricing spreadsheet, the Python analysis, the weekly reflections — is published exactly as I recorded it.
What this project covers
Three questions, thirty days, one grocery cart.
I wanted answers that were measurable rather than anecdotal — so I tracked every receipt, every workout, and every gallon of embedded water.
Is it actually cheaper?
I priced a 3,000-calorie, high-protein plant-based cart against a standard omnivorous one using real Midwest grocery pricing. The gap was $57.86 a month.
Can you still train on it?
Four weeks of weightlifting, tracked macros, and honest notes on the fibre adjustment, the energy dip, and the recovery that followed.
On the plate
Thirty days of eating lower on the food chain.
Join the movement
Swap three meat-based meals a week.
That single shift can save an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 gallons of water a month — and it takes nothing more than a different aisle on your next grocery run.