Swapping Half of Meat and Milk for Plant-Based Alternatives Would Almost Halt Deforestation

Replacing half of the world's pork, chicken, beef and milk with plant-based alternatives by 2050 would almost halt the loss of forests and natural land and cut farming and land-use emissions by 31%, a new study has found.

Researchers led by Marta Kozicka at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Austria used a global economic land-use model to test the switch. If spare farmland inside forest areas were allowed to return to forest, the climate benefit could double. The change would also more than halve future declines in ecosystem health by 2050. Replacing beef had the biggest effect, but swapping several products together worked best. The study is published in Nature Communications.

Co-author Eva Wollenberg of the University of Vermont said:

Given the magnitude of benefits we show from substituting meat with plant-based alternatives for global sustainability, climate action, and human health, this research provides important food for thought for consumers, food producers, and policymakers.

Every plant-based burger and carton of oat milk is a small vote for the forests.

It follows research showing replacing just 20% of beef with fungi-based protein could halve deforestation and the Oxford study finding a vegan diet cuts climate impact by 75%.

The forests could be saved on our plates!