There’s no question that the meat production industry has an extremely negative impact on the health of our planet. Research has proven that one’s carbon footprint can be reduced by as much as 73% (Poore & Nemecek, 2018). Green Lifestyle Organization’s Beef and Meat Free Environmental Initiative was created with this knowledge in mind. Not only are meat and animal emissions effecting the environment in a harmful way, there are also many health risks associated with excessive meat and animal consumption.
Fad diets such as the keto diet, which incorporate heavy and excessive animal and dairy consumption are not beneficial to environment nor to the body. Eating a keto diet raises the risk of increased LDL cholesterol levels and artery blockages as proven through research conducted by the American College of Cardiology.
More studies have been conducted which have contributed to the body of knowledge concerning the benefits of eating a plant based diet where climate change is a primary factor. It helps to analyze research that focuses on comparisons of various diets as a way to understand which contribute the most to climate change and the current planet crisis. When this is done, there is little doubt about which diet is the most harmful towards the health of the planet.
The study completed by Poore & Nemecek was not the first one to hone in on the subject the livestock and animal industry and its negative effects on the environment. An earlier study published in Climate Change examined the dietary greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of meat eaters, pescatarians, vegans and vegetarians in the UK (Scarborough et al., 2014). It was the first study of its kind. The highest levels of GHG emissions were found in “high meat-eating men” from a participant cohort of 65,000 people. The participants from the study included 8,123 fish eaters, 15,751 vegetarians, 29,589 meat eaters and 2,041 vegans. The lowest GHG emissions were found in vegan women (Scarborough et al., 2014).
A plant-based diet has significantly less impact on GHG emissions than a diet that fixates on consumption of animals and livestock (Xu, Sharma & Shu, 2021; Scarborough et al., 2014; Sun, Scherer & Tukker, 2022). If one really desires to impact the environment in a positive manner, a vegan or vegetarian diet should seriously be considered. On the other hand, if an individual finds it extremely hard to do so, incorporating at least a day or days of plant based within the week can significantly lower their carbon footprint. As 57% of all GHG emissions can be attributed to the breeding of cows and other livestock, another impactful choice can be the removal of certain types of meat from the diet. These types of meat include beef and pork. Even choosing to maintain a pescatarian diet rather than a meat or animal based diet is more helpful to the environment as there is an order to the diets which contribute the most to our environment problem. This order is (meat (carnivore, paleo, keto) > pescatarian > vegetarian > vegan).
Another study published in the Journal of Cleaner Production in December of 2022 took a different approach to examining the impact of various diets on the environment. Researchers chose to identify a sample of popular meals from different world cuisines—(think lasagna, chili, curry and teriyaki). Meat, vegetarian and vegan versions of the meals were examined to determine overall environmental impact. From the study, it was determined that plant based versions of meals had a much lower environmental impact while the impact of meat-based meals was 14 times higher (Takacs et al., 2022).
The science is very clear on which diet offers the most safeguarding and protection of the environment. Eating plant-based does wonders for environmental issues such as global warming, water depletion, eutrophication and terrestrial acidification. As thought processes continue to evolve and further research is conducted, academics, environmentalists and climate proponents will be able to continue to lead society in the right direction—that is one which fully embraces outcomes and solutions that lead to a sustainable future.
Scarborough, P., Appleby, P. N., Mizdrak, A., Briggs, A. D., Travis, R. C., Bradbury, K. E., & Key, T. J. (2014). Dietary greenhouse gas emissions of meat-eaters, fish-eaters, vegetarians and vegans in the UK. Climatic change, 125(2), 179–192. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-014-1169-1
Sun, Z., Scherer, L., Tukker, A. (2022). Dietary change in high-income nations alone can lead to substantial double climate dividend. Nat Food 3, 29–37. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00431-5
Takacs, B., Stegemann, J., Kalea, A., Borrion, A. (2022). Comparison of environmental impacts of individual meals – Does it really make a difference to choose plant-based meals instead of meat-based ones? Journal of Cleaner Production 379(2), 1-15.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.134782.
Xu, X., Sharma, P., Shu, S. (2021). Global greenhouse gas emissions from animal-based foods are twice those of plant-based foods. Nat Food 2, 724–732. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00358-x
.png)
Comments
Post a Comment