By Martin Banks

A relatively “small switch” to eating more plant proteins has “outsized benefits” for climate, nature and water. That is the claim of new research by consultancy Profundo and commissioned by environmental group Madre Brava.

Its report estimated that in countries where consumption of meat is above recommended levels substituting 30% of beef, pork and chicken with a mix of whole foods and novel plant- based meat products could lead to net savings of 728 million tonnes of CO2 a year.

This,it is claimed, is equivalent to offsetting almost all emissions from global air travel in 2022.

Moreover, the shift would free up 3.4 sq. km of farmland, an area the size of India, land “that can be returned to nature to boost biodiversity and absorb carbon emissions.”

Due to livestock’s “enormous” water usage, this “modest” 30% switch to plant proteins would also save 18.9 cubic
kilometres of water, it is claimed.

This is the equivalent to 7.5 million Olympic-size swimming pools worth of water every year.

Commenting on the findings, Nico Muzi, managing director of Madre Brava, told this site: “In the current context of the triple crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and water scarcity, the benefits of a modest switch to plant proteins are huge”.

“The current food system incentivizes producing and selling huge amounts of industrial meat, rather than more
sustainable, healthier proteins”.

“We need to turn the tide for our health and the health of our planet”.

“Governments and food retailers can play a critical role in ensuring that sustainable proteins are the cheapest, easiest choice for consumers when doing their food shop.”

In terms of animal welfare, the 30% shift to plant proteins would save the lives of 100 million cows, 420 million pigs and over 22 billion chickens, the report states. This is equivalent to sparing all the cows alive today in the United States.

 It adds that plant protein production, in general, uses a tiny fraction of land compared to animal meat production, thus drastically reducing deforestation and protecting biodiversity.

Moreover, plant protein production uses a lot less water, causes less water and air pollution, eliminates the risks of
antibiotic resistance and zoonotic pandemics and lowers public health burdens associated with red meat consumption.

Overconsumption of red meat is highest in North America, Europe and South America.

The projected shift to plant proteins modelled by Profundo applies only to the regions of the world with meat consumption above that recommended by widely accepted health and science assessments.

For instance, Americans and Canadians eat six times as much red meat as recommended by leading health scientists and nutritionists at EAT-Lancet, while EU and UK citizens as well as Argentinians and Brazilians eat four times as much.

Thus, the 30% switch from meat to plant alternatives is deemed as moderate as people will still be able to eat more
red meat than recommended by health experts.

 Meat consumption around the globe has increased dramatically in the past few decades.

High rates of meat consumption are concentrated in a few regions:  more than 100 kilograms (kg) per person per year in countries like the United States, Australia, Argentina, and Brazil; an average of 75kg in the EU and the UK; and less than 5 kg in India, Bangladesh or Burundi.

Muzi said: “Europeans consume four times more meat than recommended for having a balanced, healthy diet”.

“Going meat-free two days a week will have huge environmental benefits while Europeans will still be able to
eat more meat than recommended”.

“A moderate shift to plant-based foods is not only good for our health but also good for the health of our planet.”