Vegan Diets Produce 60% Fewer Emissions, Says Study

Diets wealthy in plants and low in red meat and sweet snacks produce less greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), a new study into the effects of diet on the climate crisis has concurred.

Meat represents in excess of a quarter of diet-related emissions, the paper reads. Furthermore, dairy made up 14%, with cakes and biscuits adding up to eight percent. 

Vegan based diets victory

After comparing weight control plans, researchers observed that the people who ate meat created close to 66% more emissions than vegetarians.

The study is named Variations in greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) of individual diets: Associations between the GHG and nutrient intake in the UK and available on Plos One. 

What’s more, inside it, creators ask for more rigid policies advocating vegan diets.

Lead author Dr. Holly Rippin, Ph.D., and her colleagues analyzed GHG emissions of over 3,000 food items. Tying these data to a diet survey, the researchers concluded that healthier diets tend to be more Earth-friendly.

“Healthier diets had lower GHG emissions, demonstrating consistency between planetary and personal health,” it reads.

Diet and emissions

It’s not simply emissions that diet influences. As the scientists outline here, our food decisions add to air and water quality, soil health, biodiversity, all embodied inside climate breakdown. 

According to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), animal agriculture is responsible for 14.5 percent of GHGs.

Different sources guarantee this number is far higher – at even 87%, as many contend figures do exclude the impact of land clearing for farming.