Sustainability of meat-based and plant-based diets and the environment
Open accessAbstract
Worldwide, an estimated 2 billion people live primarily on a meat-based diet, while an estimated 4 billion live primarily on a plant-based diet. The US food production system uses about 50% of the total US land area, 80% of the fresh water, and 17% of the fossil energy used in the country. The heavy dependence on fossil energy suggests that the US food system, whether meat-based or plant-based, is not sustainable. The use of land and energy resources devoted to an average meat-based diet compared with a lactoovovegetarian (plant-based) diet is analyzed in this report. In both diets, the daily quantity of calories consumed are kept constant at about 3533 kcal per person. The meat-based food system requires more energy, land, and water resources than the lactoovovegetarian diet. In this limited sense, the lactoovovegetarian diet is more sustainable than the average American meat-based diet.
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Plant-based food systems use fewer resources than food systems that are heavily reliant on animal foods.
“Dietary recommendations based on the hPDI would also be environmentally sustainable, as plant-based food systems use fewer resources than food systems that are heavily reliant on animal foods.(34)”
From Healthful and Unhealthful Plant-Based Diets and the Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in U.S. Adults (2017) · cites this paper as [34]
Dietary recommendations based on the hPDI would also be environmentally sustainable, as plant-based food systems use fewer resources than food systems that are heavily reliant on animal foods.
“Dietary recommendations based on the hPDI would also be environmentally sustainable, as plant-based food systems use fewer resources than food systems that are heavily reliant on animal foods.(34)”
From Healthful and Unhealthful Plant-Based Diets and the Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in U.S. Adults (2017) · cites this paper as [34]
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- Authors
- Pimentel, D., & Pimentel, M.
- Affiliations
- Cornell University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Pimentel, David
- ORCID
- Pimentel, David
- Venue
- The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2003-09
- Volume
- 78
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 660S-663S
- ISSN
- 0002-9165 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2142384539
- Cited by
- 1,021
- References
- 17
- Citations by year
- 2026: 31 · 2025: 36 · 2024: 53 · 2023: 56 · 2022: 78 · 2021: 75 · 2020: 91 · 2019: 66 · 2018: 86 · 2017: 68 · 2016: 75 · 2015: 62 · 2014: 56 · 2013: 47 · 2012: 32
- FWCI
- 6.01
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental Impact
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Environmental Impact and Sustainability
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Nutritional Studies and Diet
- Keywords
- meat diet, plant-based diet, sustainable diets, environmental impact of food production, land use, water consumption, fossil energy, resource allocation
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Diet, Food Supply, Humans, Meat, Population Growth, United States, Diet, Vegetarian
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