Global Plant-Based Diet Offers Double Climate Gain

When the inhabitants of the 54 richest countries switch to a predominantly plant-based diet, their food production will be more than 60% less CO2 per year.₂ issued that this is currently the case. And the knife goes both ways: a change in diet also has the potential to save around 100 gigatons of CO by the turn of the century.₂ by restoring the original vegetation on land no longer used for meat production. This researchers calculate from Leiden University this week at Natural food.

The meat consumption of rich countries contributes substantially to CO₂emissions. In total, about 13.7 gigatonnes of CO are added to global food production₂ per year, 26 percent of total emissions. In rich countries 70 percent of food-related emissions come from animal products, in poor countries 22 percent. Consumption is even more biased, in rich countries we eat 6 times more meat than in poor countries.

Ten billion people

To what extent does CO₂Emissions decrease if heavy meat consumers switch to plant-based foods has been calculated more than once. The Leiden researchers focused specifically on the “double gain” that can be achieved if the original vegetation is returned to the vacated land. They took the EAT-Lancet diet as a starting point for modifying meat consumption. Here is nutritional advice published in early 2019 by a committee of scientists from the magazine The Lancet was published, the idea of ​​which is that ten billion people could eat healthily, in a way the planet can handle well. It is a mostly vegetable diet, but there is also room for dairy products (250 ml per day) and small amounts of fish and (white) meat (around 200 grams per week).

It is not possible to just plant a tree wherever there is no meat production. “Of course, not much more than grass will grow on a high alpine meadow. But there were forests in other places that you could bring back,” says Arnold Tukker, professor of industrial ecology at the University. from Leiden and involved in the research. “For all the places where agriculture for meat production and ranching now takes place, we looked very specifically at what natural vegetation was and calculated how much carbon could be stored above the ground in the plant or tree itself and below the ground in the roots, and what happens when this vegetation dies and is absorbed into the subsoil.

By a conservative calculation, by the time the vegetation is fully developed, 56 gigatons of CO₂ recorded, in a favorable calculation 144 gigatons, on average researchers arrive at 98 gigatons. More than half of the sequestration would occur in four large countries with high forage and grassy areas: the United States (26.3 percent, 26 gigatons), Australia (13.5 percent, 13 gigatons), Germany (7.7 percent, percent, 7 gigatons) and France (7.6%, 7 gigatons). Compensation was made for the increased consumption of protein-rich plant products such as soybeans, but changes in emissions from, among other things, transport and packaging were not included.

There are more advantages. Native vegetation is more diverse than what is currently happening on earth, which can improve biodiversity. And there are health benefits: less obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease because less meat and sugar are eaten.

It has a huge impact on the agricultural sector

Arnold tucker professor of ecology

But bringing back natural vegetation may not be the top priority when land becomes available. Land is also needed for the production of crops for biofuels and sustainable energy production. “And such a massive change in diet also has a huge impact on the agricultural sector, of course, which will not go without a hitch in many countries,” Tukker said.

Then there is the human aspect. “Eating differently is in itself a climate measure that anyone can implement overnight, other than making natural gas at home or adapting their trips, the other two main sources of consumer emissions. But we live in a polarized society, if you force that on people you can just feel like Henk and Ingrid are taken from their steak. And many people think this diet is less tasty, although many chefs have long shown that it really isn’t. My hope is with the Albert Heijns and the Jumbos of this world, that they show that plant-based foods can be easy and tasty too.