The environmental impacts of a plant-based diet
Feeding 7.6 billion people is not an easy task. It’s no exaggeration to say – and there’s plenty of peer reviewed evidence to back it up – that the current global diet has destroyed both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, exhausted water resources and fuelled climate change. (source)
What are the impacts of eating animal products?
Animal-based diets impact the environment in six key ways:
- Land use change (deforestation to make way for livestock)
- Farming emissions from animals, fertilisers, machinery
- Animal feed crop-production
- Transport emissions from delivering animal food items
- Retail refrigeration emissions
- Single-use plastic packaging
The current pathway we are taking is far from the optimum. In many nations animal product consumption has drastically increased. Globally, four times as much meat per year is produced in comparison to 50 years ago.
The solution: A plant-based diet
By switching to a plant-based diet, food emissions can be reduced by up to 73% depending on location. This switch leads to a reduction in greenhouse gasses emissions, combined with a reduction in the degradation of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.
The potential
If the entire global population ”went vegan” it is estimated that the global farmland usage could be reduced by 75% – equivalent to a landmass the size of the United States, China, Australia, and the European Union combined (Source).
After many interesting conversations and educational documentaries, my girlfriend (Poppy) and I decided to try ”Veganuary” this January. By changing my diet completely, two things amazed me in particular. Firstly, the number of readily available dishes which used animal products in their recipes, and secondly the amount of research and data suggesting the benefits to human health of a plant-based diet.
(After completing VegBy switching to a plant-based diet I have personally seen health benefits through improvements in the quality of sleep I am getting. Benefits which do have a not uncommon by switching to a plant-based diet as studies have found. The increased individual health benefits and the overall environmental health benefit has led to a ‘win-win’ situation. (Both Poppy and I have now decided to stick to a Vegan diet).
Confessions of a Climate Change Freak 