Shift Towards Plant-Based Diets Can Deliver Substantial Climate and Socio-Economic Benefits

New research published in the journal Nature Food has found that a dietary shift away from animal-sourced foods could greatly reduce the ‘hidden’ costs of damage to human health and ecosystems caused by the environmental impacts of food production. The study calculated that shifting towards more plant-based diets could save up to US$7.3 trillion globally, by reducing the health burden and ecosystem degradation associated with food production.

The researchers combined life cycle assessment principles and monetization factors to estimate the production-related external costs embedded in every dollar of food expenditure. Their analyses revealed the substantial potential of dietary change, particularly in high and upper-middle-income countries, to deliver socio-economic benefits, while curbing carbon emissions.

These new findings align with previous research showing that the most nutritious foods – such as whole grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes and nuts – tend to have the lowest environmental impact, while assigning global financial impacts also accounts for the socio-economic cost of food production.

References:

Lucas, E., Guo, M. & Guillén-Gosálbez, G. (2023). Low-carbon diets can reduce global ecological and health costs. Nature Food 4, 394–406 .

Fresán, U., & Sabaté, J. (2019). Vegetarian Diets: Planetary Health and Its Alignment with Human Health. Advances in Nutrition (Bethesda, Md.), 10, S380–S388.