Could a universal vegan diet cure the climate crisis and achieve the 1.5C climate target?

Research shows that vegan diets result in 75 per cent less climate-heating emissions, water pollution and land use in comparison to diets that contain animal products. Research also suggests that a plant-based diet decreases the destruction of wildlife by 66 per cent and water use by 54 per cent.

The current human diet has proven to be environmentally damaging and contributes to climate change. Global food systems contribute to 23 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions, with more than half of the emissions being released from livestock production.

Studies on veganism have also proven that if the population were to move to a plant-based diet, greenhouse gas emissions would fall by 49 per cent.

However, maintaining a vegan diet requires privilege, and considering more than 783 million people are suffering from severe acute food insecurity, experts have recognised that prescribing a universal vegan diet is impossible.

According to The Vegan Society, the current food apartheid does not restrict most of the regions in the West from switching to a vegan diet. Professor Richard Tiffin, recognised: "Encouraging high-meat-eaters to reduce meat consumption and encouraging vegetarians to become vegans should result in lower emissions."

A 2021 University of Oxford report showed that adopting a vegan diet in the UK, US, Canada, Australia and across Western Europe, could be more than a third cheaper than a diet that contains animal products.

The report found that in high-income countries, vegan and vegetarian diets reduced household food costs by up to a third – with pescatarian diets increasing food spending by two per cent.

Dr Marco Springmann, a Researcher at the Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Food, noted: "We think the fact that vegan, vegetarian and flexitarian diets can save you a lot of money is going to surprise people... These diets could be better for your bank balance as well as for your health and for the planet."

Refusing to encourage a plant-based diet, a government spokesperson declared: "People should make their own decisions around the food they eat. Achieving the net-zero target is a priority, and whilst food choices can have an impact on greenhouse gas emissions, well-managed livestock also provide environmental benefits such as supporting biodiversity, protecting the character of the countryside, and generating important income for rural communities."

News Medical has warned that the consumption of processed meats and red meat has been associated with a higher risk of heart disease, pneumonia, diabetes and cancer.

Medical experts have also recognised that dairy products are hard for the human body to digest, as well as being the top source of saturated fat. Studies have linked dairy products with other contributions to heart disease, type 2 diabetes, together with breast, ovarian and prostate cancers.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) revealed that "more than 25 per cent of the meat market is expected to be plant-based by 2050".

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) acknowledge a plant-based diet is one of the best ways to achieve the current 1.5C target by 2050, set out in the European Green Deal under the Paris Agreement.

Professor Peter Scarborough at Oxford University noted: "Our dietary choices have a big impact on the planet. Cutting down the amount of meat and dairy in your diet can make a big difference to your dietary footprint."

Although consuming a vegan diet has a much lower impact on the environment, transporting any food products across the globe is carbon-intensive, and makes up for more than 10 per cent of the global food emissions.

For every 50 grams of protein, meats like Beef and Lamb release 17.7kg and 9.9kg of CO2, which consequently allows for a large climate footprint.

Plant-based proteins such as peas, beans and nuts only emit between 1kg and 0.1kg of CO2 for the equivalent nutritional value. These numbers include transportation emissions.