THE BIG GREEN
RECIPE BOOK

The Big Green Recipe Book

Copies of the Big Green Recipe Book are available to purchase
from the Cornerstone Bookshop and One World Shop on St John’s Terrace.

The Big Green Recipe Book began with a group of people from three Edinburgh churches asking, “What can we say to our members and friends that will give them hope, that will inspire them to believe that we can make a difference in the face of the climate crisis.” All three of our churches are members of Eco-congregation Scotland. As Christians we believe that we are called to care for our beautiful planet. Global warming is impacting most severely many poorer countries that have contributed very little to global carbon emissions. Christ’s command to love our neighbours compels us to do what we can to fight climate change, not to sit on the sidelines.

The crisis is complex and the problems can be overwhelming. None of us is an environmental specialist, but we have been impressed to learn that over a third of greenhouse gas emissions in the UK come from the production, transport, and distribution of food and drink, and the vast amounts of food waste. (Up to a third of the average UK food shop ends in the bin.) We all have to eat, and we can make choices as to how we shop and what we eat, and how much we throw away. This is why we decided to focus on food, and to gather a book of recipes that might help us all develop some new, sustainable eating habits.

Our guidelines for a low carbon diet:

1) Eat less beef. Beef has a carbon footprint 6 or 7 times greater than pork or chicken. Beef production is the biggest cause of deforestation. Reduce meat eating in general. We do not try to turn you into a vegetarian, but suggest that you replace beef with chicken or pork dishes, and begin to think of meat as a treat rather than a daily necessity. Learn about plantbased sources of protein.

2) Reduce food waste. Bread is one of the items most likely to be thrown away, so we have several recipes that use up stale bread.

3) Don’t replace meat with lots of dairy, but find interesting recipes with new flavour combinations, using vegetables, fruits, pulses, nuts, seeds and spices. Our book has several recipes from other parts of the world.

4) Talk about it to your friends, or to anyone who listen. Convincing others of the value of moving towards a low carbon diet may be one of the most powerful ways you can impact climate change.

We would like to thank everyone who contributed to The Big Green Recipe Book.

May it encourage us all as we seek to love our neighbours by protecting the planet!

Together Green,
Eco-group of the Together Trust,
Edinburgh City Centre Churches Together
September 2022

A selection of recipes from the book is published below