Vegan diet could cut carbon footprint by almost half - study

In Germany, for example, the proportion of vegans doubled between 2016 and 2020, reaching 2 per cent, while in the UK, it increased 2.4 times between 2023 and 2025 to 4.7 per cent of the population. Aside from the health benefits, switching to a plant-based diet is an effective way to reduce human impact on the climate.

A new study published in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition has shown exactly how much eating a diet without animal products reduces greenhouse gas emissions and the use of natural resources. Scientists also confirmed that a vegan diet can provide the body with almost all the nutrients it needs.

"We compared diets with the same caloric content and found that switching from a Mediterranean diet to a vegan diet reduces carbon emissions by 46%, requires 33% less land and 7% less water, and reduces pollution associated with global warming," said study author Dr Noelia Rodriguez-Martin from the University of Granada (Spain).

The team of scientists developed four weekly menus of 2,000 kilocalories per day:

• mediterranean diet (with vegetables, fruit, whole grains, fish and small amounts of meat),

• pescetarian (with fish but no meat),

• ovo-lacto-vegetarian (with eggs and dairy but no meat or fish)
  and vegan (an entirely plant-based diet with tofu, soya yoghurt, seeds and legumes).

The researchers calculated not only the nutritional value of the diets, including 22 vitamins and micronutrients, but also their ecological footprint, from greenhouse gas emissions to water and land use.

The results were impressive:

• cO₂ emissions decreased from 3.8kg per day (on the conventional diet) to 2.1kg (on the vegan diet);

• water consumption decreased by 7 per cent,

• and farmland by a third.

Moreover, the vegan diet showed a reduction in ecosystem impact by more than 50 per cent and was associated with a reduction in chronic disease risk by more than 55 per cent.

All three plant-based diets were found to be nutritionally balanced - only vitamins D, B12 and iodine required additional attention.

"Our data clearly demonstrate: the more plant-based foods in the diet, the less harm to the environment," emphasised Rodriguez-Martin.

Scientists note that even incomplete avoidance of animal products can benefit the planet.

"You don't have to become completely vegan to help nature. Every step towards a plant-based diet reduces emissions and saves resources. Every plate of plant-based food brings us closer to health - personal and planetary," the researcher added.