Oxford Scientists in Science: Rising Meat Consumption Harms Health and the Planet

Rising meat consumption is bad news for both our health and the planet, according to a major review by University of Oxford scientists published in Science.

The review was led by Professor Charles Godfray of the Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Food and Professor Susan Jebb, with co-authors including Tim Key, Marco Springmann and Peter Scarborough. It weighs the evidence on health and the environment as global meat consumption keeps rising with population and incomes.

The authors also look at the options open to governments that want to change how much meat people eat. Experts responding through New Zealand's Science Media Centre pointed to the link between processed meat and colorectal cancer. The authors write:

The consumption of different types of meat and meat products has substantial effects on people's health, and livestock production can have major negative effects on the environment.

For the rest of us, the choice is already on the menu: the more plants, the lighter the load.

It comes weeks after an Oxford study of 38,700 farms found even the greenest meat and dairy are beaten by plant foods, and follows research linking just 9 grams of processed meat a day to higher breast cancer risk.

The science is clear, and the shift is under way!