Sustainability and Veganism
A plant-based diet and veganism are widely recognized as one of the most effective ways individuals can reduce their environmental footprint.
Major Reductions in Environmental Impact
- Plant-based diets produce ~75% less greenhouse gas emissions, generate 75% less water pollution, and use 75% less land than meat-rich diets (Scarborough, et al., 2023).
- High meat-eaters have an environmental impact about four times higher than vegans, across multiple environmental measures (Scarborough, et al., 2023).
- The food systems are responsible for about 30% of the current anthropogenic GHG emissions, and animal products account for almost 60% of those emissions (UNEP, 2023).
Food Systems and Global Emissions
- Food production global emissions:
- 57% from animal-based foods (including livestock feed)
- 29% from plant-based foods
- 14% from other uses
- Overall, animal-based food emissions are about twice those of plant-based foods (Xu et al., 2021).
Land Use Benefits
- Vegan diets typically require only about 25% of the land used by high meat diets. (Scarborough, et al., 2023).
Real-World Example: Beef vs Beans
The BBC environmental impact calculator provides a striking comparison:
- Eating 75g of beef daily for one year (about one hamburger) produces emissions equivalent to driving 7,196 miles — crossing the U.S. about 2.5 times.
- Eating 150g of beans daily for one year produces emissions equivalent to driving only 93 miles.
Climate Impact of a Global Shift
- A global transition to a vegan diet would likely significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, since livestock production is one of the largest emitters in the food system (Dorgbetor et al., 2022).
Interested in going vegan?
Download our free resource booklet: https://animalplace.org/recipes/
