Green campaigner Laurel Spooner says there are ways to complement the focus on diet, during Veganuary.

WE are in “Veganuary”, when the charity “Veganuary” suggests we should go vegan for January.

The idea is to eat a totally plant-based diet, which would stop the breeding of animals for slaughter, considerably reduce greenhouse gas production and make feeding the world’s population and preserving its forests much easier.

However, for some, it seems very daunting.

I'm one of those and remain a vegetarian who still eats eggs and dairy products.

My husband is a so-called “flexitarian” but he takes great care to buy meat produced in environmentally-friendly ways.

Ever since I visited a battery farm, which looked unspeakably cruel, I have bought free range eggs.

Mostly I eat cheese made from organic milk and plant-based products such as oat milk, oat yoghurt and sunflower margarine, as well as milk, cream and a little butter.

Nowadays, my husband has meat only once a week instead of five times, reared locally, as grass-fed as possible and without the use of hormones and antibiotics.

He enjoys it much more and we spend about 20 per cent less on food now than we did.

On average, as restaurant menus illustrate, vegetarian meals are cheaper than those containing meat or fish.

Perhaps as I find out more about vegan foods I may become 100 per cent vegan but, for now, I’d like to look at other ways to make my kitchen more eco-friendly and here are some I'm trying.

n Keep as much packaging out as you can, especially plastic where paper would do.

Take your own bags, large and small, and buy loose goods whenever it's possible.

Supermarkets offer this more often now, as market stalls and farm shops always have, and organic vegetable box home deliveries have been booming.

n Eat locally produced foods to support local businesses and keep food miles down.

Eating seasonally keeps you connected with nature, the landscape around you and the passing months.

It seems crazy to bring salad and strawberries in from abroad in deepest winter when we can use UK sprouts, tatties, ‘nips and ‘neeps to create the warm, hearty meals we need.

n Reduce waste during food preparation.

Wash but don’t peel skins off vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, parsnips, aubergines and many fruits.

Cook the stalks of mushrooms - apparently some people never do. Use the stalks of broccoli and cauliflower and eat the tops of beetroot and celery.

You will save money and ingest more of the antioxidant vitamin C, which is generally more concentrated in the skin than the flesh and which protects your body from the infamous “free radicals” which cause cellular damage.

The additional fibre will “keep things moving” and reduce your chances of bowel cancer.

n Use the freezer to preserve the freshness of surplus food you won’t need for a week rather than leave it deteriorating in the fridge.

You will still be able to eat it at its best rather than use it past its best or chuck it out altogether.

The energy used in freezing food is very small in relation to the energy wasted when the food is wasted, along with all the effort that went into getting it to you.

n Traditional ovens are energy hungry and microwaves are up to ten times more efficient so it makes sense to use the microwave whenever possible.

n Pressure cookers are very effective energy savers, cutting cooking time on the hob by roughly 75 per cent, bringing a welcome reduction in time spent “slaving over a hot stove”.

Steaming comes next but without the pressure takes much longer.

Boiling is the worst option both on energy use and because it leaches out water soluble vitamin C.

n Do away with plastic cling film completely - no need to cover bowls when microwaving as microwaves pass well through ceramic so cover with a plate instead and do the same for bowls in the fridge.

n Do away with aluminium foil - the manufacture of which is very energy intensive. Beeswax wraps and baking parchment can do the same job.

n For washing up the machine has been declared more eco than the hand - hurray!

It uses much less water but must be fully loaded and no pre-rinsing in the sink is allowed.

Waste food must be scraped off into the caddy or the compost.

n For cleaning surfaces and washing the floor try environmentally friendly brands like Ecover and use the refills if available

So, this January I suggest don’t just focus on your diet but think about making your whole kitchen more eco.

You will be able to spend less time preparing food, although it's reported that many at home during Covid have relished that part of the day and extended it.

You will also be eating wholesome, nutritious food, know you are doing your bit for the planet’s health, have the bonus of spending less each week and feel virtuous when you don’t rinse the plates.