TY - JOUR
T1 - How to transition to reduced-meat diets that benefit people and the planet
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
N1 - © 2020, The Author(s).
PY - 2020/2/8
Y1 - 2020/2/8
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
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85080068766&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137208
DO - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137208
M3 - Comment/debate
C2 - 32088475
AN - SCOPUS:85080068766
SN - 0048-9697
VL - 718
JO - Science of the Total Environment
JF - Science of the Total Environment
M1 - 137208
ER -