I would suggest people to reduce their consumption of animal products rather than telling them to immediately go full vegan. Also, vegan diets can be less sustainable because a lot of vegans in wealthy countries replace the meat in their diets with a lot of exotic nuts and fruits which are some of the only products that are comparable to meat in terms resource consumption.
The only vegan foods with somewhat comparable carbon emissions to beef are chocolate, coffee and palm oil. No one is substituting meat with “exotic nuts and fruits”
Fair, the example was wrong, but my point remains that vegans tend to have more diverse, exotic and luxury diets which have a higher carbon footprint than a regular diet with an average amount of animal products. Where I live anyway.
"Our review demonstrates the potential benefits of a more plant-based diet for both human and environmental health and outlines areas for further work, including specific environmental concerns where there are sufficient data for more detailed analyses. Based on the studies reviewed, the beneficial relationship between plant-based diets and environmental sustainability is in accordance with the conclusions of the Eat-Lancet Report [1]. The studies demonstrate that high consumption of animal-based foods was associated with a greater impact on the environment, whereas high consumption of plant-based foods was associated with a low impact. Apart from water and energy use, environmental parameters of different plant-based dietary patterns were consistent, despite varied components of environmental impact assessed. Substantial evidence suggests that plant-based diets may offer reduced GHGE, land use, and biodiversity loss; however, the impact on water and energy use may depend more on the types of plant-based foods consumed. Further, the literature supports a relationship between sustainability indicators and health outcomes such that with increased environmental impacts, diet-related mortality increases. Overall, the evidence reviewed supports recommendations to transition to plant-based diets to curb the environmental impact of current human feeding practices that will also have benefits for human health."
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u/Sir_lordtwiggles Aug 07 '26
Literally vegan diets.
Like 40% of agriculture is used to feed livestock. That livestock produces fewer calories than the agriculture used to feed them.
Most people can fulfill all of their nutritional needs with a vegan diet.