Shutterstock
Experts say people around the world need to consume less meat, eggs and dairy products, reducing consumption by some 90 percent by 2050 in order to save the planet, according to a new report.
A new report published by the British medical journal The Lancet, claims the world’s dietary habits are causing “catastrophic damage to the planet.”
The researchers say that the planet simply can’t support the resources necessary to feed the world’s population with a large diet of meat.
In a separate 2014 study published in the journal of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers found that to produce one steak – it requires 11 times more irrigation water, twenty-eight times more land, and six times more fertilizer as compared to other protein sources such as poultry or pork. In addition, the study linked steak to the release of five times more greenhouse gas emissions than the other proteins.
The report recommends that we reduce the consumption of meat and focus on sustainable food production. The researchers stated that the world should focus on food production that will “use no additional land, safeguard existing biodiversity, reduce consumptive water use and manage water responsibly” while also reducing pollution.
To reach the levels the researchers are recommended, North Americans will need to reduce the amount of red meat they eat by 84 percent. It won’t be much different for Europeans, who researchers say need to eat 77 percent less red meat.
The researchers advise that people around the world reduce their consumption of meats and replace them with beans, legumes, nuts and seeds in order to obtain protein in their diet.
Additionally, the report recommends limiting the consumption of eggs to less than four per week, as well as, reducing dairy consumption to a serving per day or less.
The researchers say that the dietary habits of people around the world are the “major driver of poor health” and that many diseases and conditions are preventable with a change of diet.
The report advises that people eat more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and unsaturated oils. Likewise, people need to reduce the number of refined grains, sugars, starchy vegetables, processed meats, seafood, and poultry, while consuming little to no red meat.
