Julie Knopp
You may be surprised by the many benefits of eating less meat. By consuming more plant-based foods, you can improve your health, help animals, and build a more sustainable future.
The meatless movement has grown remarkably over the past decade.
While vegetarian options were once considered niche, today, fast food giants like Burger King, White Castle, Del Taco, Quizno's, and Carl's Jr. have added plant-based meats to their menus. According to one study, plant-based food dollar sales grew 54% from 2019 to 2021. Business forecasters project continued growth for meat alternatives. Consumers are choosing to eat less meat for their health, environmental sustainability, and other reasons. But why take it from them? You can try plant-based eating today and discover the benefits for yourself.
Why should you eat less meat?
Eating less meat can benefit your health, improve animal welfare, and protect the environment. In 2023, meat alternatives are more abundant and diverse than ever before, from burgers made with pea protein to plant-based steaks that "bleed" when you cut into them. There's no better time to explore plant-based eating. Whether you want to try a "Meatless Monday" or a vegan diet, reducing your meat intake means a healthier you and a more sustainable future for our planet.
How can eating less meat help the environment?
Studies find that eating less meat is one of the most critical choices you can make to protect the environment. According to researcher Joseph Poore at the University of Oxford: "A vegan diet is probably the single biggest way to reduce your impact on planet Earth, not just greenhouse gases, but global acidification, eutrophication, land use and water use." Environmental protection agencies like Sierra Club and Greenpeace have also urged consumers to eat less meat to reduce strain on the environment.
Raising animals for food is associated with climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss, and other threats to the planet. Meat, dairy, and egg production requires massive amounts of resources, including animal feed, water, land, and fossil fuels for transportation. And, these massive factory farms don't just deplete resources—they pollute the air, soil, and bodies of water. Their impact is especially devastating on nearby communities, who bear the brunt of factory farm pollution.
By choosing more plant-based foods, you can reduce your environmental footprint. And as more environmentally-conscious consumers opt for meat-free options, our ability to protect the planet grows. Together, we can create a more sustainable food system!
Deforestation
The rising global demand for meat is causing widespread destruction of forests and other critical wildlife habitat to make space for growing feed crops and grazing. In fact, the main culprit of the destruction of the Amazon rainforest is animal agriculture. Clearing land for grazing cattle accounts for roughly 80% of the clear-cutting of this precious ecosystem. According to forest advocates, "Smarter choices at the dinner table would go a long way toward safeguarding the world's largest rainforest."
Climate Change
Demand for meat, especially beef, accelerates climate change. Some estimates suggest that a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture. Cows are ruminant animals, and when they burp, they emit a potent greenhouse gas known as methane into the atmosphere. Reducing demand for meat can help to curb the methane emissions that drive global warming.
Additionally, as the meat industry monopolizes land to raise animals and grow feed crops, vital plant-rich landscapes are disappearing. These diverse plant communities are essential for capturing and storing carbon to curb climate change. Plants that once extracted greenhouse gasses from the atmosphere have been destroyed to satisfy the global appetite for meat.
Research suggests that ending animal agriculture and moving towards a plant-based food system could be the solution to the climate catastrophe. One recent study from researchers at Stanford and the University of California, Berkeley found that transitioning to a plant-based future within 15 years would cut enough greenhouse gas emissions to offset most emissions from other industries over the next 100 years. Eating more plant-based foods is a powerful tool for combating climate change.
Pollution
Greenhouse gas emissions are just one of many ways that the meat industry is polluting the planet. Animal agriculture is a leading source of water pollution too. Animals raised for food in the US produce more than a billion tons of manure each year, and roughly five times as much as the human population of the country produces annually. There is often too much excrement to absorb into the ground, so it is carried into waterways by rain, where it contaminates precious bodies of water. In areas where animals are more intensively farmed, excessive manure can lead to contaminated drinking water and other threats to public health.
Animal agriculture plays a central role in the sustainability crisis.
According to ethicist Dr. Lisa Kemmerer: "Cheap meat, dairy, and eggs are an illusion—we pay for each with depleted forests, polluted freshwater, soil degradation, and climate change." Animal agriculture plays a central role in the sustainability crisis. Due to the environmental costs associated with meat consumption, countries such as Germany and the Netherlands are considering taxing meat sales. The German environmental ministry has already banned meat at official functions. At the same time, many consumers are taking action for the planet by choosing more plant-based foods. By eating less meat, you can reduce strain on the environment and create a brighter future for the planet.
Health benefits of eating less meat
The health benefits of eating less meat are well-documented. Dr. Monique Tello, writing for the Harvard Health Blog, states: "Science has shown us over and over again that the more meat we eat, the higher our risk of diabetes, heart disease, and strokes. Conversely, the more fruits and vegetables we eat, the lower our risk for these diseases, and the lower our body mass index." Consider prioritizing your well-being and joining the growing population of consumers choosing plant-based foods for their health.
Disease
The human body metabolizes red meats and processed meats as toxins, which can damage blood vessels and other organs. People who eat less meat are at lower risk for heart disease, strokes, or diabetes. In other words, eating more plant-based foods is associated with improved health outcomes.
Cancer
Recent research has uncovered a link between consumption of certain meats and the development of cancer. The World Health Organization has identified processed meats as carcinogenic, alongside asbestos and tobacco. The International Agency for
Research on Cancer has linked the consumption of red meat to colorectal and other kinds of cancer. Overall, studies find that vegetarians, pescetarians, and people who consume less meat benefit from lower rates of cancer.
Public Health
Intensive animal agriculture provides a concerning breeding ground for pandemics. Disease spreads easily when animals are packed tightly together in unventilated areas, surrounded by their own waste. Evidence suggests that previous pandemics, including AIDS, SARS, and COVID-19, stem from human use of animals for food. According to public health expert Dr. Michael Greger in his book Bird Flu: A Virus of Our Own Hatching, "If you actually want to create global pandemics, then build factory farms."
Adding more whole grains, legumes, and fresh fruits and vegetables can yield positive results for your health. Consuming more plant-based foods also reduces the dirty, crowded conditions associated with animal agriculture that threaten the well-being of communities around the globe. Eating less meat can protect your health and the health of your community.
Eating less meat to help animals
More than 70 billion cows, pigs, chickens, and other land animals are slaughtered for meat each year worldwide. Estimates suggest that about 99 percent of these animals spend their short lives trapped inside factory farms—industrial facilities that confine thousands of animals in one concentrated area in order to maximize meat production. The majority of them never have the opportunity to bathe in the sun or run through a field. Instead, they spend their lives in cramped cages, and some lack even enough space to turn around or lie down comfortably.
By eating less meat, you can reduce the demand for meat which necessitates this intensive animal farming. Leaving animals off your plate and opting for more compassionate, plant-based foods means that fewer animals have to suffer through exploitation in factory farms and an early slaughter.
Reducing meat consumption for workers’ rights
Farm animals are not the only victims of rising demand for meat. Low-wage workers in the meatpacking industry suffer some of the worst labor conditions imaginable. Research indicates that processing animals for meat ranks among the worst jobs for rates of injury and psychological distress.
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, infections ravaged the meatpacking industry, and many cases were fatal. While some industries provided safeguards and flexibility for their employees, meatpacking workers were forced to continue laboring for long hours in cramped quarters, often with minimal protections. At one point, authorities identified a Smithfield pork plant in South Dakota as the "largest single-source coronavirus hotspot in the US."
According to Ignacio Davalos, a worker at a Nebraska hog plant, "We've already gone from the line of exhaustion to the line of pain. When we're dead and buried, our bones will keep hurting."
How to eat less meat
If you're new to plant-based eating, experimenting with cooking tasty meat-free versions of your favorite dishes is a fun place to start. You can also dine out at veg-friendly restaurants in your area. Consider trying out cutting-edge meat alternatives like the plant-based burgers and brats produced by Beyond Meat or Impossible Foods.
Tips to Cut Back on Your Meat Consumption
Here are a few tips to consider as your get started eating less meat:
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Keep yourself accountable by making a commitment to eating more plant-based foods. Consider a "Meatless Monday" pledge or a commitment to try eating vegetarian or vegan for a week or more.
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Make simple swaps. With plant-based proteins like Beyond Meat plant-based patties, Lightlife Smart Dogs, and Tofurky deli slices, you can enjoy the same meals you love, but replace your conventional meat with tasty plant-based alternatives.
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Explore hundreds of delicious, plant-based recipes featured in award-winning blogs and in cookbooks. Try out Nora Cooks, Oh She Glows, Rabbit and Wolves, Vegan Richa, or Rainbow Plant Life.
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Find plant-based versions of your favorite foods. Do you love mac and cheese? What about lasagna? Or tacos? Whatever dishes you love best, there are inventive plant-based alternative recipes for your favorite meals available for free online right now. Just Google it!
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Try the Happy Cow website or app. Happy Cow is a great resource that can help you find vegan or vegetarian options at restaurants near you. Plug in your location, and discover the great plant-based menu options in your city.
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Focus on progress over purity. Remember that any effort to reduce your consumption of meat makes a difference for your health and the environment. If you slip up, that's okay. The most important thing is to continue eating more plant-based foods in the long run.
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Stay inspired. Keep educating yourself about the benefits of plant-based eating. Consider watching informative documentaries like Food, Inc, What the Health, The Game Changers, Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret, and Forks Over Knives.
Meatless meal and recipe ideas
Still not sure where to start? Consider trying one of these highly-rated recipes:
Kale Smoothie
Hydrating Salad
Vegan Caesar Salad with Crisp Chickpeas
One Pot Vegan Minestrone
Pasta e Fagioli
Vegan Dijon Rosemary Sheet Dinner
Crispy Smashed Potatoes with Avocado Garlic Aioli
Easy Vegan Black Bean Burgers
Simple Vegan Pancakes
Sweet and Sour Tofu
Vegan Mac & Cheese
Pumpkin Black Bean Enchiladas
The Best Vegan Chocolate Cake
Vegan Banana Bread
The World's Easiest Cinnamon Rolls
The bottom line
The scientist Grace Hopper once said, “The most dangerous phrase in our language is: ‘We’ve always done it that way.” Rethinking our food choices is an exciting opportunity to start new traditions that align with our values. And you’ll be amazed at how good plant-based food can taste! Whether it’s one meatless meal per week or a vegan diet, reducing your consumption of animal products makes a difference for the environment, the animals, and your health.
Want more support? You can get more tips and tricks in our free plant-based starter guide, and connect with a community of likeminded, compassionate changemakers by volunteering with us.
