A study in the journal Nature, revealed by the English newspaper The Guardian, indicates that vegetable diets reduce the impact on global warming by 75%. The effects are also minor on eagle pollution or land use compared with meat-rich diets.
The conclusion is not exactly new, but it is now more consolidated because studies so far have only used model diets and average values to estimate the effect that each food has on climate.
This new study from the scientific journal Nature went further, looking at the actual diets of 55,000 people in the UK. It also used data from 38,000 growers in countries around the world. The idea was to understand how food produced in various parts of the planet can harm the climate, but it was discovered that what is really important is what you eat, rather than where or how it is produced.
In this chapter, meat is the product that pollutes the most by far, unlike vegetables. In addition to contributing less to global warming, polluting less water, they also use less land to be produced, compared to diets that include a daily consumption of more than 100 grams of meat.
Compared to meat-based diets, plant-based diets also destroy 66% less wildlife, use 54% less water, and emit 93% less methane. This gas released, for example, by cattle, is one of the most polluting.
The researchers of the study warn that it is necessary to reduce the amount of meat and dairy products in the diets, or that it can make a big difference in the amount of food that is left on the planet, since a third of the emissions of greenhouse gases are due to years Feeding Habits.
The alert goes up in tone when talking about rich countries. Those responsible for the study insist that it is necessary to reduce the consumption of meat and dairy, neither new technologies nor the least amount of food waste will reduce the figures.
They suggest to the British government that through policy it encourages people to eat less meat, but has met with resistance. Several ministers have said that they will not impose on people what to consume, despite the fact that there is a tax on drinks that have more sugar.
A British government spokesman recently acknowledged that eating habits contribute to pollution, but also stated that livestock farming, if done well, has benefits for the climate, such as supporting biodiversity, as well as being an important source of livelihood for communities. rural.
Source: TSF
