Small amounts of meat and milk are bad for you and the planet

According to National Geographic, even small amounts of meat and dairy products can impact the health of people and the planet.

A new report published in the British medical journal The Lancet examines the type of diet needed to feed the world's growing population, which is expected to reach 10 billion by 2025.

Thirty scientists from around the world came together for three years to develop the report. The last article recommends an essentially vegetable diet with a minimum of meat, dairy products and sugar.

"Even a small increase in the consumption of red meat or dairy products would make it difficult if not impossible to achieve," the report says.

The conclusions were reached by considering the sustainability of various foods. Greenhouse gas emissions, the use of water and crops, nitrogen or phosphorus from fertilizers and the loss of biodiversity have been taken into account. Other research has badociated the production of meat and dairy products with a significant impact on the environment, while vegan and vegetarian foods would have a greatly reduced impact. One study found that if everyone stopped eating beef and became vegan, land use would be reduced by 75% because farmland is used to raise livestock but also to grow the crops needed to animal nutrition.

A plant world

The new report includes specific guidelines that must be followed in order to feed the ever-growing population. According to scientists, the consumption of meat and sugar must be reduced by 50%.

Some countries – like the United States – should reduce their consumption more than others, said Jessica Fanzo, author of the report and professor of food policy in the United States. Countries facing malnutrition may be able to eat meat more often than three percent of their diet.

If no action is taken, "[w]we will all be in a desperate situation, " Fanzo told National Geographic.

Other reports made similar recommendations, such as a study published in the journal Nature, which urged the public to eat less meat and sugar for environmental reasons, while the United Nations said that consumption and production of meat and dairy products must be reduced "urgent" global warming.

Last year, another report said that the world needed to reduce its consumption of animal products by 50%. She also recommended some measures to ease the transition, such as taxes on animal products "Harmful to health, climate or the environment."

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Small amounts of meat and milk are bad for you and the planet

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Even small amounts of meat and dairy products have an impact on personal health and the planet. A diet consisting mainly of plant-based foods is necessary to feed the growing population.

Author

Jemima Webber

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LIVEKINDLY

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