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Following the plant-rich EAT-Lancet diet would cut premature deaths 34% more than following national dietary guidelines, and cut greenhouse gas emissions more than three times as much, an Oxford-led study finds.
Dr. Marco Springmann of the University of Oxford and colleagues from Harvard, Tufts and Adelaide universities analyzed the dietary guidelines of 85 countries. Their modeling study is published in The BMJ. When adopted globally, 83 of the 85 national guidelines were incompatible with at least one global health or environmental target, and most clashed with the Paris climate agreement.
In the UK, guidelines in line with EAT-Lancet could raise the number of deaths avoided from 78,000 to 104,000. Clearer advice to limit animal foods, especially beef and dairy, was the biggest single lever for making guidelines sustainable. In the Oxford Martin School press release, Dr. Springmann said:
Most national food based dietary guidelines shy away from providing clear recommendations on limiting the consumption of animal source foods, despite their exceptionally high emissions and resource use, and, in the case of red and processed meat, their clear association with diet-related diseases, such as heart disease and cancer.
The extra health gains came from more whole grains, fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds and legumes, and less red and processed meat.
It backs the 37 EAT-Lancet scientists who said the world must halve red meat, and shows why Canada's new food guide, which ditched the dairy group, was a step in the right direction.
Governments, the evidence is on your desk.