A new study has found that modest reductions in meat and dairy consumption could help Scotland meet its climate goals while improving public health, without increasing the cost of food.
The modelling study assessed 33 different ways of meeting the UK Climate Change Committee’s recommendations for sustainable diets .
Researchers from the University of Edinburgh, working with colleagues from the University of Oxford and Food Standards Scotland, examined the impact of dietary changes on greenhouse gas emissions, land and water use, nutrient intake, diet costs and health conditions including type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
They found that helping high consumers of processed and unprocessed red meat move towards lower intakes could prevent almost 60,000 cases of type 2 diabetes over a 10-year period, while also achieving greater environmental gains. Rather than reducing consumption evenly across the population, targeting those who consume the most meat delivered the largest benefits.
All modelled dietary pathways resulted in lower greenhouse gas emissions as well as reductions in land and water use. The study also found that emissions associated with food consumption by adults in Scotland, including the carbon footprint of imported food, exceed emissions from agricultural production within Scotland itself, highlighting the importance of dietary change alongside efforts to reduce emissions from farming.
The findings challenge the assumption that more sustainable diets are necessarily more expensive, with most dietary changes having little impact on overall food costs. Researchers found that even small, gram-for-gram substitutions in everyday meals such as sandwiches and pasta dishes could produce meaningful long-term benefits for both people and the planet.
Replacing some meat with vegetables, beans and eggs did not adversely affect nutrient intake. While lower dairy consumption could considerably reduce iodine intake among some groups, researchers say this could be addressed through iodine fortification of plant-based dairy alternatives.
Dr Joe Kennedy, from the University of Edinburgh’s Division of Global Agriculture and Food Systems, said: ‘The findings show that modest, realistic dietary changes, when scaled across a population, can deliver substantial benefits to people and the planet. Making healthier, sustainable options more available and convenient will be key to enabling such change.’
The study was funded by the Wellcome Trust and Food Standards Scotland.
The full research can be read here.
Photo: Rendy Syabany