Changes in dietary emissions from adopting sustainable diets across countries and regions. Credit: Nature Climate Change (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41558-024-02084-1
A report by a multi-institutional team of environmental scientists suggests that if everyone in the world adopted the EAT-Lancet Planetary Healthy Diet, global dietary greenhouse gas emissions could fall by 17%.
In a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change, the team analysed the distribution of emissions associated with 140 food types consumed in 139 countries.
Previous studies have shown that diets high in animal and trans fats can lead to heart disease and other health problems, and that livestock production produces more greenhouse gases than vegetable farming, so medical researchers and environmentalists advise adults to eat less meat and more vegetables.
In the new study, the researchers quantified how much the planet would benefit if everyone followed that advice, and also looked at disparities in consumption habits across countries and what could be done to improve the outlook for global dietary emissions.
The researchers analysed data on food consumption habits in 139 countries to compare the greenhouse gas emissions from food production in those same countries, narrowing the list down to 140 food categories to make the task more manageable.
The analysis found that 56.9% of the world's population is so-called over-consumer, meaning that meat and dairy products make up a large part of their diet. The researchers noted that if all these over-consumers switched to the EAT-Lancet Planet Healthy Diet, global greenhouse gas emissions related to food production could be reduced by 32.4%.
The EAT-Lancet Planetary Health Diet is a diet developed by the EAT-Lancet Commission in 2019. The diet was designed to create a global paradigm that would enable food production to meet the needs of 10 billion people by 2050, in order to reduce deaths from hunger and unhealthy diets and prevent the collapse of the natural world.
The diet is similar to a vegetarian diet but allows small amounts of dairy and animal protein products such as fish, eggs and meat. The researchers also note that Western countries, where meat is eaten the most, need to make the biggest changes.
Further information: Yanxian Li et al., “Mitigating the impacts of climate change from global food systems through dietary changes,” Nature Climate Change (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41558-024-02084-1
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Citation: Adopting a planetary-healthy diet could cut emissions by 17%, environmental scientists suggest (August 14, 2024) Retrieved August 14, 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2024-08-planetary-health-diet-emissions-environmental.html
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