Healthiest Foods Are Also Best for the Planet, While Red Meat Is Worst for Both

The foods that are best for our health, including whole grains, fruit, vegetables, legumes, nuts and olive oil, also have among the lowest environmental impacts, while red meat is the worst for both, a new study finds.

Researchers from the University of Oxford and the University of Minnesota, led by Dr. Michael Clark with Professor David Tilman, looked at how eating one extra daily serving of each of 15 foods is linked to five health outcomes in adults and five measures of environmental damage from farming. The study is published in PNAS.

Unprocessed and processed red meat had the largest environmental impacts and were consistently linked to the largest increases in disease risk. Fish was also linked to better health but had higher impacts than plant foods. The one exception to the pattern was sugary processed food, which harms health but can have a low environmental footprint.

In the University of Minnesota press release, co-author Professor Jason Hill said:

This study shows that replacing red meat with more nutritious options can greatly improve health and the environment.

Beans, wholegrain bread, nuts and an extra piece of fruit turn out to be a win for your body and the planet at the same time.

It lines up with the Oxford finding that a global vegan diet could save 8 million lives by 2050, and with August's UN climate panel report on plant-based diets.

Good for you, good for the planet: it really is that simple.