Vegan Diets Have One-Fourth the Climate Impact of Meat-Heavy Diets, Study Finds (2025)

FAQs

Do vegan diets contribute to climate change? ›

People who follow a plant-based diet account for 75 percent less in greenhouse gas emissions than those who eat more than 3.5 ounces of meat a day, and a vegan diet also results in significantly less harm to land, water and biodiversity, according to new research from the University of Oxford.

Evidence shows that vegan diets tend to have far lower carbon, water and ecological footprints than those of meat- or fish-eaters. One Italian study found two vegan participants with extremely high eco-impacts, but this turned out to be because they only ate fruit.

The rise in popularity of veganism has of course added pressure on the meat industry. The numerous constraints on animal meat production have created a consumer preference for plant-based food products to be incorporated into their eating habits.

1 vegan day per week (52 days a year) can save nearly 143kgs of CO2 per year. 1 vegan week per month (12 weeks a year) can save nearly 231kgs of CO2 per year.

The biggest difference seen in the study was for emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas produced by cattle and sheep, which were 93% lower for vegan diets compared with high-meat diets.

In short, animal agriculture is killing the planet. It is a huge waste of resources and land, and causes huge amounts of deforestation, and greenhouse gas emissions. The production of plant-based foods requires less land, fewer resources, and produces vastly fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

A 2013 study published in the JAMA Internal Medicine journal found that “vegans have a 9% lower risk of death from all causes compared with omnivores”, according to Live Science.

The analysis found that plant-based diets produce 75 percent less heat-trapping gas, generate 75 percent less water pollution, and use 75 percent less land than meat-rich diets — those that include at least 100 grams of meat daily, the equivalent of one steak around the size of a deck of cards.

Intake and status of vitamin B12, vitamin D, iron, zinc, iodine, calcium and bone turnover markers were generally lower in plant-based dietary patterns compared to meat-eaters. Vegans had the lowest vitamin B12, calcium and iodine intake, and also lower iodine status and lower bone mineral density.

But even if, like Thunberg, you are a vegan who doesn't fly, your veganism is still more effective at minimising harm than your flight-free life. That's because the problems with beef, and with meat and dairy in general, cannot be reduced to the amount of GHGs it emits.

What is healthier, vegan or meat eater? ›

No statistically significant differences have been shown for total cardiovascular disease between vegans and meat eaters, but the data so far suggest there may be a lower risk of ischaemic heart disease and perhaps a higher risk of stroke in vegans. There is no evidence of a difference in life expectancy.

For these people, there is a very common misunderstanding that importing plant-based foods from around the world has a worse environmental impact than eating locally sourced animal products. This is, in fact, entirely false – it is the other way around!

Going vegan is one of the best things you can do to help stop animal cruelty. By refusing to pay for animal products, you reduce the demand for them, which ensures fewer animals are bred to suffer and die on farms and in slaughterhouses.

When dealing with carbon emissions alone, they are up to 120 times more carbon efficient than meat products. A recent 2021 study found that plant-based patties have a 77% smaller climate change burden than beef patties, with reduced land and water use, eutrophication, and acidification.

Changing from a meat-loving diet to vegetarianism can decrease one's carbon footprint from diet by over 50 percent, depending on the change. That's the equivalent of driving 1,300 miles less per year.

Food needs to be grown and processed, transported, distributed, prepared, consumed, and sometimes disposed of. Each of these steps creates greenhouse gases that trap the sun's heat and contribute to climate change.