Eat vegan – a great way to reduce your carbon footprint
It has now been established beyond doubt that climate change is real, as has been confirmed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Global average temperatures are now more than 1 degree Celsius higher than they were in pre-industrial times, and this has led to an increasing number of extreme weather events. This increase in temperature has been caused primarily by greenhouse gas emissions resulting from human activities.
As well as inflicting irreversible damage on the planet, climate change is having a devastating effect on the health and well-being of many millions of people, and leading to the forced displacement of millions of others [1]. Things will only get worse unless we are prepared to make radical changes to our lifestyles.
A significant proportion – up to 30% or more, according to various estimates – of all the greenhouse gases we produce is caused by food production. However, this figure would be reduced drastically if people moved from meat-based to plant-based diets – a change that would also have environmental benefits for land and water use.
The main greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O). Research studies [2] have shown that an individual’s contribution to overall food production-related emissions of these gases is about 75% lower for someone on a plant-based diet than for a regular meat-eater. Emissions of methane – which has a global warming effect that is about 30 times stronger than carbon dioxide – are as much as 95% lower for a vegan diet than for a meat-based one. Emissions of carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide are each about 70% lower for a vegan diet.
A separate study [3] compared the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production of two popular vegan burgers – Impossible Burger and Beyond Burger – with the emissions for a typical beef burger with similar calorie and protein content. It revealed that the emissions for the Impossible Burger are 89% lower, and for the Beyond Burger 90% lower, than those for the beef burger.
So, by following a plant-based diet, you are making a significant contribution to tackling climate change. And it’s clear that one of the most effective changes – perhaps the most effective change – that consumers of animal products can make to their lifestyles in order to reduce their impact on climate change is to move to a plant-based diet.
[1] United Nations Climate Action – Causes and Effects of Climate Change https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/science/causes-effects-climate-change
[2] Vegans, vegetarians, fish-eaters and meat-eaters in the UK show discrepant environmental impacts by P. Scarborough et al., Nature Food 4, 565 (2023) https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-023-00795-w
[3] A Review of Environmental Life Cycle Assessments of Diets: Plant-Based Solutions Are Truly Sustainable, even in the Form of Fast Foods by Anna Kustar and Dalia Patino-Echeverri, Sustainability 13(17), 9926 (2021) https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/17/9926