Switch to plant-based protein could help fight climate change and hunger

Agriculture – both victim and cause of climate change. New research shows moving away from animal protein towards legumes makes sense nutritionally and environmentally.

[Mediterranean dish: fava beans, peas, Feta, mint]

Agriculture is often thought of as being at the mercy of climate change, with increasing droughts and flooding resulting in lower yields, especially across the developing world. Yet the agricultural sector also contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions, itself exacerbating climate change. In fact, recently agriculture was identified as the second biggest emitter globally, producing around 10-13% of emissions. A substantial amount of these emissions comes from livestock farming with the production of methane.

Scientists have now found evidence that switching diets towards plants as sources of protein as opposed to meat, is much more sustainable. In a study, researchers scored legumes, such as beans and peas, by their environmental cost of production (including greenhouse gas emissions, groundwater pollution and land use), as well as according to their nutrient content.

[Figure: The Global Warming Potential of protein production pathways in terms of greenhouse gases emitted to the atmosphere. Data for farm to farm-gate production pathways collated from 123 peer-reviewed life cycle analyses]  

The results clearly showed that plant protein sources (legumes) had the lowest environmental production cost, while at the same time demonstrating the highest density of nutrients. Professor Mike Williams said, "Peas have a nutrient density to environmental footprint ratio approximately five times higher than equivalent amounts of lamb, pork, beef or chicken."

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