Cook a damn good pizza for the environment!

Surely no one has missed the uproar in recent years surrounding the climate impact of food, and especially beef? A plant-based diet has both environmental and health benefits. Today we share a top recipe for vegan pizza in collaboration with Gustav Johansson, the blogger behind Jävligt gott!

Cowspiracy is the documentary that shook the whole world. In a production from 2014, Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn go in depth about the climate impact of food and the government's cover-up of the negative impact of the meat industry. Today we are enlightened with the hard facts about livestock's environmental footprint. The official figures usually show that around 20% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions are caused by livestock and their by-products. A high number but where new reports suggest that the number may be even higher.

Food consumption is thus the main contributing source to the greenhouse effect. The worst is the beef industry, which requires enormous resources from our earth. One kilogram of beef corresponds to approximately 23-39 kg of greenhouse gases, which is 10 times as much as one kilogram of chicken. And a real environmental culprit is the greenhouse gas methane, where one cow alone releases 250-500 liters of methane per day.

In environmental matters, we tend to attach great importance to the carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) our society generates. Carbon dioxide is certainly a gas that contributes to the greenhouse effect, but the fact is that methane has a global warming potential that is 86 times greater than carbon dioxide within a 20-year time frame. By changing our eating habits and switching to a completely plant-based diet (vegan), Kip believes that we can radically reduce our contribution of greenhouse gases.

Gustav Johansson, the blogger behind Damn Good , have taken a stand on the matter. Today he runs one of Sweden's most popular food blogs within vegetarian and vegan diets. He sees great advantages in switching to a more plant-based food consumption from both an animal rights and environmental promotion perspective. Now he has created a recipe for a vegan pizza for us to share with our customers and friends.

Oumph Kebab Pizza (sic) with Chipotle Mayo, 4 pizzas

Ingredients

The pizza base

- 800 g Wheat flour Special
- More flour for baking
- 650 ml lukewarm water
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 tablespoon of sugar
- 15 g (1+1/4 package) dry yeast

Tomato sauce

- 2 cans of crushed tomatoes
- 2 cloves of garlic
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- Oregano (dried)

Filling

- Mozarella, 1 ball of mozzarella per pizza, or 1 packet of cheezly mozzarella (vegan)
- 1 bag of oumph kebabs
- 1 tomato, thinly sliced
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced
- Astrid and the monkeys Chipotlemayo

Do it like this: Step 1 is the tomato sauce and putting it on the boil. Finely slice the garlic and quickly fry in the olive oil over low heat. Then add the crushed tomatoes, salt, pepper and oregano. Let it simmer under the lid on low heat until it goes on the pizza.

While the sauce is doing its thing on the stove, it's time to start with the dough. Pour approx. 13-14 dl (800g) flour in a bowl together with salt. Mix the yeast and sugar in lukewarm water in a separate jug and add while stirring to the flour. Mix to a fine dough and add more flour until you can knead it easily by hand. If you knead for about 10 minutes, you activate the gluten threads and get a smooth dough!

Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rise for approx. 45 minutes when it has become approximately twice its size. Place the pizza stone in the cold oven and turn the oven on to 275 degrees. It is important that it gets really hot so that the pizza is baked so deliciously!

Then divide the dough into eight pieces. You freeze half and save for another occasion. Then thaw the dough at room temperature and roll out immediately afterwards.

Shape the four remaining pieces into balls and dust them with flour. Let rise under plastic for another 15 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the filling.

When the dough has risen, take out the balls, one at a time, and flatten them to the desired size, but not too big and not too small. About 30 cm in diameter with the hands I think is fine. By flattening them a little with the knuckles and pulling the edges, it goes smoothly. Use a lot of flour so it doesn't stick to the table. Then place directly on a properly floured pizza shovel.

In the next step, when all the ingredients are on, you have to be quick. The tomato sauce causes the dough to become wet and if it is left on the spatula for too long, it risks sticking. Do not have too much filling, as it will be too heavy.

Take out the pizza stone using the grate and place it on the stove. Then it will be easier to get the pizza on and you will reduce the risk of burning yourself. Quickly slide the pizza from the shovel to the stone.

Quickly put the pizza stone back in the oven so it doesn't cool down.
Bake the pizza until the edges are colored, about 5-7 minutes.

Eat and enjoy!

To finish it all, we want to take the opportunity to share one infographics with a comparison in climate emissions between a vegan pizza and a kebab pizza (Sweden's most popular pizza according to several surveys).

Share the love and don't forget to try Gustav's pizza this weekend!

Together with Gustav and Jävligt goodt, we have also launched an Instagram competition where you can win a pizza kit and his latest cookbook "Jävligt God Husman". Read more about the competition at Damn good or under #pizzacop21 on Instagram!

Sources:
Bryngelsson, David and others 2013. Scenarios for climate impacts from food consumption in 2050
ICAO, Carbon Emissions Calculator
Röös, Elin. 2012. The Food-Climate Inventory, Version 1
Improved Attribution of Climate Forcing to Emissions. Science Magazine
The Swedish Agency for Agriculture. Meat and climate. 2015-07-06