How to transition to reduced-meat diets that benefit people and the planet

Niki A. Rust; Lucy Ridding; Caroline Ward; Beth Clark; Laura Kehoe; Manoj Dora; Mark J. Whittingham; Philip McGowan; Abhishek Chaudhary; Christian J. Reynolds; Chet Trivedy; Nicola West

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137208

How to transition to reduced-meat diets that benefit people and the planet

Niki A. Rust^*, Lucy Ridding, Caroline Ward, Beth Clark, Laura Kehoe, Manoj Dora, Mark J. Whittingham, Philip McGowan, Abhishek Chaudhary, Christian J. Reynolds, Chet Trivedy, Nicola West

^*Corresponding author for this work

Health Sciences

Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › peer-review

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.

Original language	English
Article number	137208
Journal	Science of the Total Environment
Volume	718
Early online date	8 Feb 2020
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137208
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 8 Feb 2020

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Behaviour change
Carbon emissions
Healthy diets
Meat overconsumption
Planetary health
Sustainable diets

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10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137208

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© 2020, The Author(s).
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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.",

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AU - Rust, Niki A.

AU - Ridding, Lucy

AU - Ward, Caroline

AU - Clark, Beth

AU - Kehoe, Laura

AU - Dora, Manoj

AU - Whittingham, Mark J.

AU - McGowan, Philip

AU - Chaudhary, Abhishek

AU - Reynolds, Christian J.

AU - Trivedy, Chet

AU - West, Nicola

PY - 2020/2/8

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N2 - 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.

AB - 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.

KW - Behaviour change

KW - Carbon emissions

KW - Healthy diets

KW - Meat overconsumption

KW - Planetary health

KW - Sustainable diets

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DO - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137208

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AN - SCOPUS:85080068766

SN - 0048-9697

VL - 718

JO - Science of the Total Environment

JF - Science of the Total Environment

M1 - 137208

ER -

How to transition to reduced-meat diets that benefit people and the planet

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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