Abstract
Overwhelming evidence shows that overconsumption of meat is bad for human and environmental health and that moving towards a more plant-based diet is more sustainable. For instance, replacing beef with beans in the US could free up 42% of US cropland and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 334 mmt, accomplishing 75% of the 2020 carbon reduction target. We summarise the evidence on how overconsumption of meat affects social, environmental and economic sustainability. We highlight the social, environmental and economic effectiveness of a range of dietary interventions that have been tested to date. Because meat eating is embedded within complex cultural, economic, and political systems, dietary shifts to reduce overconsumption are unlikely to happen quickly and a suite of sustained, context-specific interventions is likely to work better than brief, one-dimensional approaches. We conclude with key actions needed by global leaders in politics, industry and the health sector that could help aide this dietary transformation to benefit people and the planet.
Highlights
Unsustainable food production and consumption negatively affect human and environmental health (Nyström et al, 2019)
The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) defines sustainable diets as “those diets with low environmental impacts which contribute to food and nutrition security and to healthy life for present and future generations
There has been a paucity of research that has addressed all three pillars of dietary sustainability together; instead, research has tended to focus on certain aspects of each pillar, such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions coupled with reducing overconsumption of animal protein (Friel et al, 2009; Westhoek et al, 2014; Clark and Tilman, 2017; National Academies of Sciences Engingeering and Medicine, 2019)
Summary
Unsustainable food production and consumption negatively affect human and environmental health (Nyström et al, 2019). Our food system is a leading driver of biodiversity loss (WWF, 2018) and contributes 19–29% of global greenhouse gas emissions (Vermeulen et al, 2012). This failing system severely limits our ability to achieve all of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), so transitioning towards sustainable diets is urgently needed to ensure One Health objectives for people and the planet are achieved (Hawkes and Popkin, 2015). We go on to list key barriers, steps and global leadership needed to aid this system change
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