New research on plant-based foods and environmental health is encouraging people to eat less meat and fish. Researchers also highlight the benefits of this diet in lowering the risk of infectious diseases.
nutrition insights examines research proving that vegan meals can halve carbon emissions compared to other diets and school cafeterias, while significantly reducing water and land use.
A vegan diet leads to a 46% reduction in carbon emissions
research in Frontiers of nutrition found that a vegan diet can cut carbon emissions in half (46%) and reduce land use (33%) while providing nearly all essential nutrients.
Only 1.1% of the world’s population is vegan, but this number is growing. In Germany, the vegan population doubled from 2016 to 2020, reaching 2%. In the UK, it increased by 2.4 times to 4.7% between 2023 and 2025.
Many people cite health reasons as the reason. Next to the ecological benefits, the researchers point out that switching from a Western diet to a vegan diet can reduce the risk of premature death from non-communicable diseases by 18% to 21%.
The team created a nutritionally balanced diet over a four-week period. “When we compared diets with the same amount of calories, we found that moving from a Mediterranean diet to a vegan diet used 33% less land, 7% less water, produced 46% less carbon dioxide, and reduced other pollutants associated with global warming,” says corresponding author Noelia Rodríguez-Martín, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow at the Spanish National Research Council Institute, now based at the University of Granada.
As a baseline, the Mediterranean diet consists of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and moderate amounts of meat, poultry, and fish. Other diets included pesco-vegetarian, ovo-vegetarian, and vegan.
Researchers calculated intakes of macronutrients, 22 vitamins, and essential micronutrients using publicly available data and compared them with recommendations from international health organizations.
They estimated the total ecological footprint of each menu, taking into account climate change, ozone depletion, water eutrophication, and ecotoxicity.
Greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) were reduced by 46%, from 3.8 kg/day of CO2 equivalent for the omnivorous diet to 3.2 kg/day for the pescovegetarian diet, 2.6 kg/day for the ovo-lactovegetarian diet, and 2.1 kg/day for the vegan diet.
A similar pattern was observed for water usage, with a 7% decrease from 10.2 cubic meters of water for the omnivorous diet to 9.5 cubic meters for the vegan diet. Agricultural land occupancy decreased by 33%.
The vegan diet resulted in more than 50% reductions in key ecological impact indicators, including a 55% reduction in disease incidence, compared to an omnivorous baseline. Rodríguez Martín said the three plant-based menus are nutritionally balanced, with only vitamin D, iodine and vitamin B12 requiring a little more attention.
“However, in a four-way comparison between omnivores, pesco-vegetarians, ovoracto-vegetarians and vegans, a pattern was clear: the more plant-based foods, the smaller the ecological footprint. Pesco-vegetarian menus showed modest increases, but fish production added some environmental costs. Vegetarian diets also fared well, reducing carbon emissions by about 35%.”
Research shows that a vegan diet can cut carbon emissions by almost half compared to an omnivorous eating pattern.“You don’t have to become a complete vegan to make a change. Even small steps towards a more plant-based diet reduce your carbon footprint and conserve resources. Every diet that includes more plants helps lead us to healthier people and a healthier planet,” she concludes.
A vegan diet cuts GHGE in half
Another study in JAMA network open found that a low-fat vegan diet significantly reduced GHGE compared to the standard American diet.
Researchers led by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine detail a 51% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (1,313 g of CO2 equivalent per person per day) and cumulative energy demand (8,194 kJ per person per day) due to reduced meat, dairy and egg consumption.
“As awareness of our environmental impact increases, replacing plant-based foods with animal-based foods will become as popular as reducing, reusing, and recycling,” said study author and clinical research director Hana Kaleova, MD.
“We know that whole food, plant-based diets are better for our health and the environment,” she added. “This analysis shows how much of an impact our daily food choices have.”
recent investigation We found that nearly half of Americans are considering adopting a plant-based diet to reduce greenhouse gases.
“Previous studies have shown that red meat has a particularly strong impact on energy use compared to grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables,” Kaleova comments.
“Our randomized study shows the extent to which a low-fat vegan diet is associated with significant reductions in greenhouse gases and energy use, which are important drivers of climate change.”
Plant-based school meals with fewer meat and fish dishes support children’s health while significantly reducing their environmental impact.The team points out the latest EAT-Lancet updateGHGE, calls for reducing red meat consumption to reduce land and water use and nutrient pollution. Analysts have long argued that Eliminate value-added tax on meat; This has the potential to reduce diet-related environmental impacts by up to 6%.
School lunch design reduces environmental impact by 50%
Another study in Total environmental scienceA study of school cafeterias in Catalonia found that reducing meat and fish and increasing legumes and diverse grains on the menu reduced environmental impact by 50%.
Researchers from Oberta de Catalunya University and the Barcelona Institute for Global Health suggest that sustainable food systems also include schools, where students can be encouraged to reduce their environmental footprint and improve their health.
The school used the Public Health Agency of Catalonia’s Meal Guidelines for Schools to create a healthy menu for children aged 7 to 12, with sustainability in mind. Last updated in 2020.
The researchers touted their paper as the first on the school menu, acknowledging the cafeteria as a place where learning habits last a lifetime. Additionally, it examines the guidelines’ success in reducing 16 environmental impacts, including acidification, water scarcity, human toxicity, and the use of minerals, metals, and fossil resources.
The team used the 2005 guidelines as a baseline and updated them in 2012, 2017, and 2020, reducing their environmental footprint by 9%, 22%, and 40%, respectively.
They found that meat and fish contributed the most to environmental impact and suggested replacing these foods with plant-based proteins. Fruit and rice were the main sources of water consumption on the farm. Reducing fruit can have a negative impact on health, but rice can be replaced with other things. Climate-dependent grains.