Voluntary action is not going to solve the planetary environmental crisis. We need a massive public policy response including public investment, regulatory and tax policy. So please don't think that any of your individual small acts of virtue mean you can stop being politically engaged. Still, we might as well do what little we can, in part because their can be multiplicative and synergistic effects. I'm going to point to a few things that basically won't cost you a penny, or inconvenience you, or make you give up anything you like.
There are a lot of more sustainable food products becoming available. Obviously, you can buy vegan mayonnaise. Big Mayonnaise has decided that if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, and the major brands are now offering vegan products on the shelf right next to their classics. They're labeled something like "dressing and spread" but they are culinarily indistinguishable from mayonnaise made with eggs. Taste the same, look the same, same texture, 100% substitutable in recipes.
I am also trying a vegan egg substitute called JUST Egg, which is the only one currently available in my supermarket. They just had two small bottles on the shelf last time I went, but if people buy it, they'll put out more, and maybe even try offering some other brands. The bad news is that it comes in a plastic bottle containing the equivalent of about 4 eggs, so hopefully they'll come up with a bigger and less plastic bottle. I tried making an omelette with it, and I found that it didn't quite develop the structural integrity of a proper omelette. It seems to want to be scrambled eggs, not that there's anything wrong with that. But maybe I can work on my cooking technique. I don't know if it would make a good custard, but I'll try to find out, using soy or almond milk. These products are perfectly good substitutes for cow's milk although again, I haven't tried them for a custard yet.
As for meat substitutes, I actually prefer products that aren't pretending to be meat. I tried some quinoa based meatballs and I thought they were excellent. I like some of the commercially available black bean and garden burgers better than Impossible burgers, but some products are mushy -- you'll need to try them till you find ones you like, that have a good texture. Boca burgers are good but they aren't vegan, they have a lot of dairy, so make your own decision about that. Soy based fake salami and pastrami is okay, best actually better if you pan fry it before making your sandwich. A fake hot pastrami with sauerkraut is just fine. I'm also trying vegan cheese substitutes, but not ready to report on that yet.
Obviously, when it comes time to replace a light bulb, use an LED. It costs more up front but uses minimal electricity and will last you the rest of your life. Replacing light bulbs will be a thing of the past. You can re-use the plastic produce bags the grocery store provides literally dozens of times. Just put them in your shopping bag once the original contents are gone and use them instead of pulling a new one off the roll. You can also use them for storage of the leftover onion or potato half, even cheese once you take the wrapper off, instead of a zip lock bag. Again, they'll last for dozens of reuses.
There's a lot more stuff like this. Again, it's not going to save the world by itself, but eventually, everybody needs to be doing stuff like this, and the more people buy these products, the more the manufacturers and retailers will respond. And your diet will actually be healthier, and you can even save money. So why not?
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