THE EFFECTS OF PLANT-BASED CUISINE ON PUBLIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
David Bezanson, Ph.D.
Substantive contributions were made by Michael Martin, M.D. and Thomas Newman, M.D.
This article does not necessarily reflect the position of the Santa Cruz Group leadership. We like to provide a platform for our members to share their ideas and the content may be of some interest to you.
When we select meat as a staple, we are causing numerous deleterious consequences. By savoring a plant-based diet we improve our own health and environmental integrity. Typically, the most planet-friendly diet is vegan, while vegetarian diet ranks second, and omnivorous diets rank third.
Environment
Input - Output
Producing 1 calorie of beef uses 78 calories of fossil fuel energy. Producing 1 calorie of soybeans uses merely 1 calorie of fossil fuel energy. The energy input required to raise each edible is listed in descending order: lamb, beef, pork, bovine-sourced dairy, egg, chicken meat, and crops (5, 23).
Raising a kilogram of beef requires 10 – 100 times more water than raising crops (25).
An acre of crops can feed 5 – 100 times more people than an acre of livestock (25, 28).
Livestock farming generates 20 to 40 times the GHG output of crop farming.
50 to 70% of the grain harvest in the USA is used to feed livestock (10).
Raising livestock generates 15 – 20% of global greenhouse gases (GHGs) (7, 8, 9, 24):
carbon dioxide (CO2) - the most common GHG
Methane (CH4) - traps 80 times more heat than CO2 over 20 years (21, 24)
nitrous oxide (N2O) - traps 310 times more heat than CO2 over 20 years
ammonia (NH3) - from synthetic and livestock-excreted fertilizer releases N2O via volatilization (natural conversion to gas) (6, 26).
Deforestation
Feeding crops to livestock entails deforestation. This decreases carbon sequestration and impairs the environment in at least 12 proven ways. Upgrading from an omnivore to a vegan diet decreases deforestation by 1 acre/year/person, decreases the costs of climate remediation by 50%, and provides a greater amount of environmental benefit than replacing an internal-combustion vehicle with an EV (13). Raising livestock causes erosion of topsoil, which diminishes soil fertility and contaminates our fresh water resources with silt, pathogenic microbes, excrement, growth hormones, and non-therapeutic antibiotics. This is deleterious to marine life, crops, forests, and public health.
The livestock industry causes more deforestation than any other and uses one-third of global water consumption. Deforestation, e.g., in South America, decreases the biodiversity required for ecosystem resilience (1, 2, 4, 14, 15, 19).
Health
Meat and dairy have a concentration of radiation and pollutants (e.g., pesticides, herbicides, heavy metals) that is 10 times higher than that of crops. Compared to omnivores, vegans and vegetarians enjoy increased longevity and number of years free from major disorders. They have a lower body mass index and lower incidence of many cardiovascular disorders, several cancers, type II diabetes, polyneuropathy, macular degeneration, cataracts, and infections transmitted only from animals, e.g., bovine spongiform encephalopathy (“mad cow disease”).
Mechanisms explaining the numerous benefits of plant-based diets include:
decreased inflammation
decrease in harmful levels of lipids and arterial plaque
decreased intake of carcinogens
intake of antioxidants (which are almost completely absent in meat and dairy)
intake of fiber (which is absent in meat and dairy)
lower caloric density and total fat content of most plant foods than of meat and dairy
better karma? (Does karma exist? Is one’s karma profile improved by respecting animal rights?)
There are many ways in which plant-based diets may be unhealthy. Obtaining the maximum benefit from a vegetarian diet requires deleting the junk, selecting foods with a high nutrient to calorie ratio, and ensuring intake of all essential nutrients. A healthy vegetarian diet is also the most sustainable (11, 16, 17, 21, 27, 28). Yet, dairy-rich vegetarian diets may decrease individual and ecosystem health more than omnivore diets that are low in dairy and meat.
Wrap
As Sierra Club members, it is important that we educate and lead by example. The Loma Prieta chapter has a policy of serving only cuisine that is low on the food chain at chapter events. The implication is that no red meats be served. The Santa Cruz Group (SCG) has the same policy, in practice snacks served up in SCG events tend to be vegetarian with occasional cheese.
It is easier to instill healthy dietary preferences at a young age, e.g., in the K-12 school system and universities. Some examples include making vegetarian menus available in cafeterias, revising personal health curricula, and offering courses on vegetarian nutrition in medical schools. Campaigns to boycott the livestock industry and divest from it are promising.
Research has found that one of the most effective ways to lower our carbon footprint is government-enacted incentives, e.g., a carbon tax on fossil fuels. Imposition of a carbon tax on meat is being studied. What measures do you think would curb global meat consumption?
To increase your ratio of plant to meat intake, peruse the tips and recipes in References (16, 20). Bon appe’tit.
References
1. https://academic.oup.com/ajae/article-abstract/95/2/442/70917?redirectedFrom=fulltext
2. Austin, K. et.al. (2017) Trends in the size of tropical deforestation… Environ Res Lett 12 : 5.
3. Barnosky, A. & Hadly, E. (2016) The Tipping Point for Planet Earth London: Harper Collins.
4. Barona, E. et. Al. (2010) The role of pasture and soybean in deforestation… Environ Res Lett, 5 : 2.
6. EPA https://pubs.ext.vt.edu/442/442-110/442-110.html
7. http://www.fao.org (29 Nov. 2006) UN FAQ Newsroom ; also (2013)
8. Godfray, H. et.al. (2018) Meat consumption, health, and the environment Science 361 : 6399.
9. Goodland, R. Our choices to overcome the climate crisis, NGO Global Forum 14, 2011, Gwangju Korea.
10. Hayes, D. & Hayes, G. (2016) Cowed NY : Norton.
11. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/cutting-red-meat-for-a-longer-life
13. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathy-freston/vegetarian-is-the-new-pri_b_39014.html
14. http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0165797
15. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2807%2961256-2/fulltext
16. McDougall, J. (2013) The Starch Solution NY: Rodale Press.
17. National Resource Defense Council 2013 Facts About Pollution from Livestock Farms, http://www.nrdc.org/water/pollution/farm.asp
20. Ornish, D. (2008) The Spectrum NY: Penguin.
21. Pearce, F. (1989) Methane: The hidden greenhouse gas. New Scientist, 37 - 41.
22. https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/global-warming/
23. Pimental, D. & Pimental, M. (2003) Sustainability of meat-based and plant-based diets and the environment American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 78:3, 660S - 663S.
24. Prusty, S. et. Al. (2014) Review: Methane and nitrous oxide emissions from livestock… African J Biotech, 13:44, 4200-4207.
25. Sabate, J. et. al. (2014). The environmental cost of food choices. Public Health & Nutrition 6, 1–7.
26. http://www.science.time.com/2013/12/16
26. Sivapatham, P. et.al. (2009) Ammonia volatilization…, Journal of Environmental Science, 44:3, 317 - 24.
27. UN Environmental Program 2010 Impacts of Products and Materials, Paris FR
28. http://www.veganapolis.com/veganism-and-the-environment/