IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i15p4110-d252927.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Which Diet Has the Least Environmental Impact on Our Planet? A Systematic Review of Vegan, Vegetarian and Omnivorous Diets

Author

Listed:
  • Bingli Clark Chai

    (Design & Consumer Behaviour Section, Department of Food Science, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 26, 1958 Frederiksberg C, Denmark)

  • Johannes Reidar van der Voort

    (Design & Consumer Behaviour Section, Department of Food Science, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 26, 1958 Frederiksberg C, Denmark)

  • Kristina Grofelnik

    (Design & Consumer Behaviour Section, Department of Food Science, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 26, 1958 Frederiksberg C, Denmark)

  • Helga Gudny Eliasdottir

    (Design & Consumer Behaviour Section, Department of Food Science, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 26, 1958 Frederiksberg C, Denmark)

  • Ines Klöss

    (Design & Consumer Behaviour Section, Department of Food Science, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 26, 1958 Frederiksberg C, Denmark)

  • Federico J. A. Perez-Cueto

    (Design & Consumer Behaviour Section, Department of Food Science, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 26, 1958 Frederiksberg C, Denmark)

Abstract

The food that we consume has a large impact on our environment. The impact varies significantly between different diets. The aim of this systematic review is to address the question: Which diet has the least environmental impact on our planet? A comparison of a vegan, vegetarian and omnivorous diets. This systematic review is based on 16 studies and 18 reviews. The included studies were selected by focusing directly on environmental impacts of human diets. Four electronic bibliographic databases, PubMed, Medline, Scopus and Web of Science were used to conduct a systematic literature search based on fixed inclusion and exclusion criteria. The durations of the studies ranged from 7 days to 27 years. Most were carried out in the US or Europe. Results from our review suggest that the vegan diet is the optimal diet for the environment because, out of all the compared diets, its production results in the lowest level of GHG emissions. Additionally, the reviewed studies indicate the possibility of achieving the same environmental impact as that of the vegan diet, without excluding the meat and dairy food groups, but rather, by reducing them substantially.

Suggested Citation

  • Bingli Clark Chai & Johannes Reidar van der Voort & Kristina Grofelnik & Helga Gudny Eliasdottir & Ines Klöss & Federico J. A. Perez-Cueto, 2019. "Which Diet Has the Least Environmental Impact on Our Planet? A Systematic Review of Vegan, Vegetarian and Omnivorous Diets," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(15), pages 1-18, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:15:p:4110-:d:252927
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/15/4110/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/15/4110/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David Tilman & Michael Clark, 2014. "Global diets link environmental sustainability and human health," Nature, Nature, vol. 515(7528), pages 518-522, November.
    2. Peter Scarborough & Paul Appleby & Anja Mizdrak & Adam Briggs & Ruth Travis & Kathryn Bradbury & Timothy Key, 2014. "Dietary greenhouse gas emissions of meat-eaters, fish-eaters, vegetarians and vegans in the UK," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 125(2), pages 179-192, July.
    3. Louise Seconda & Julia Baudry & Benjamin Allès & Christine Boizot-Szantai & Louis-Georges Soler & Pilar Galan & Serge Hercberg & Brigitte Langevin & Denis Lairon & Philippe Pointereau & Emmanuelle Kes, 2018. "Comparing nutritional, economic, and environmental performances of diets according to their levels of greenhouse gas emissions," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 148(1), pages 155-172, May.
    4. Michael Martin & Miguel Brandão, 2017. "Evaluating the Environmental Consequences of Swedish Food Consumption and Dietary Choices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-21, December.
    5. Arrieta, E.M. & González, A.D., 2018. "Impact of current, National Dietary Guidelines and alternative diets on greenhouse gas emissions in Argentina," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 58-66.
    6. van Dooren, C. & Marinussen, Mari & Blonk, Hans & Aiking, Harry & Vellinga, Pier, 2014. "Exploring dietary guidelines based on ecological and nutritional values: A comparison of six dietary patterns," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 36-46.
    7. Helen Harwatt & Joan Sabaté & Gidon Eshel & Sam Soret & William Ripple, 2017. "Substituting beans for beef as a contribution toward US climate change targets," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 143(1), pages 261-270, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Simon Pröll & Heidelinde Grüneis & Franz Sinabell, 2022. "Market Concentration, Producer Organizations, and Policy Measures to Strengthen the Opportunities of Farmers for Value Addition—Empirical Findings from the Austrian Meat Supply Chain Using a Multi-Met," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-18, February.
    2. Bauer, Jan M. & Aarestrup, Simon C. & Hansen, Pelle G. & Reisch, Lucia A., 2022. "Nudging more sustainable grocery purchases: Behavioural innovations in a supermarket setting," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    3. Hernando Barreto Riaño & John Willmer Escobar & Rodrigo Linfati & Virna Ortiz-Araya, 2022. "Disciplinary Categorization of the Cattle Supply Chain—A Review and Bibliometric Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-44, November.
    4. David Kilian & Ulrich Hamm, 2021. "Perceptions of Vegan Food among Organic Food Consumers Following Different Diets," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-17, August.
    5. Valentin Beck & Bernd Ladwig, 2021. "Ethical consumerism: Veganism," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 12(1), January.
    6. Janet Music & Sylvain Charlebois & Louise Spiteri & Shannon Farrell & Alysha Griffin, 2021. "Increases in Household Food Waste in Canada as a Result of COVID-19: An Exploratory Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-11, November.
    7. Shila Minari Hargreaves & António Raposo & Ariana Saraiva & Renata Puppin Zandonadi, 2021. "Vegetarian Diet: An Overview through the Perspective of Quality of Life Domains," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-23, April.
    8. Sabin Shrestha & Janaki Mahat, 2022. "Sustainable Food Security: How To Feed An Increasing Population? A Review," INWASCON Technology Magazine(i-TECH MAG), Zibeline International Publishing, vol. 4, pages 15-18, April.
    9. Alice Wistar & Marissa G. Hall & Maxime Bercholz & Lindsey Smith Taillie, 2022. "Designing Environmental Messages to Discourage Red Meat Consumption: An Online Experiment," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-14, March.
    10. Aroub Alnasser & Nsreen Musallat, 2022. "Food Sustainability Knowledge among Saudis: Towards the Goals of Saudi Vision 2030," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-17, September.
    11. I. D. Brouwer & M. J. Liere & A. Brauw & P. Dominguez-Salas & A. Herforth & G. Kennedy & C. Lachat & E. B. Omosa & E. F. Talsma & S. Vandevijvere & J. Fanzo & M. Ruel, 2021. "Reverse thinking: taking a healthy diet perspective towards food systems transformations," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(6), pages 1497-1523, December.
    12. Liesel Carlsson & Edith Callaghan & Göran Broman, 2021. "Assessing Community Contributions to Sustainable Food Systems: Dietitians Leverage Practice, Process and Paradigms," Systemic Practice and Action Research, Springer, vol. 34(5), pages 575-601, October.
    13. Amy E. Culliford & Jane Bradbury & Elphee B. Medici, 2023. "Improving Communication of the UK Sustainable Healthy Dietary Guidelines the Eatwell Guide: A Rapid Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-23, April.
    14. Daniel Francisco Pais & António Cardoso Marques & José Alberto Fuinhas, 2023. "How to Promote Healthier and More Sustainable Food Choices: The Case of Portugal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-23, February.
    15. Cavaliere, Alessia & De Marchi, Elisa & Frola, Enrica Nadia & Benfenati, Alessandro & Aletti, Giacomo & Bacenetti, Jacopo & Banterle, Alessandro, 2023. "Exploring the environmental impact associated with the abandonment of the Mediterranean Diet, and how to reduce it with alternative sustainable diets," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    16. Antonia Voll & Leonardo Jost & Petra Jansen, 2023. "Heartfulness in Vegans, Vegetarians, and Omnivores," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(6), pages 1-13, March.
    17. Andrej Kirbiš & Monika Lamot & Marija Javornik, 2021. "The Role of Education in Sustainable Dietary Patterns in Slovenia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-14, November.
    18. Tomasz Daszkiewicz, 2022. "Food Production in the Context of Global Developmental Challenges," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-11, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jennifer A. Jay & Raffaella D’Auria & J. Cully Nordby & David Andy Rice & David A. Cleveland & Anthony Friscia & Sophie Kissinger & Marc Levis & Hannah Malan & Deepak Rajagopal & Joel R. Reynolds & We, 2019. "Reduction of the carbon footprint of college freshman diets after a food-based environmental science course," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 154(3), pages 547-564, June.
    2. Johanna Ruett & Lena Hennes & Jens Teubler & Boris Braun, 2022. "How Compatible Are Western European Dietary Patterns to Climate Targets? Accounting for Uncertainty of Life Cycle Assessments by Applying a Probabilistic Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-21, November.
    3. Louise Seconda & Julia Baudry & Benjamin Allès & Christine Boizot-Szantai & Louis-Georges Soler & Pilar Galan & Serge Hercberg & Brigitte Langevin & Denis Lairon & Philippe Pointereau & Emmanuelle Kes, 2018. "Comparing nutritional, economic, and environmental performances of diets according to their levels of greenhouse gas emissions," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 148(1), pages 155-172, May.
    4. Anna Kustar & Dalia Patino-Echeverri, 2021. "A Review of Environmental Life Cycle Assessments of Diets: Plant-Based Solutions Are Truly Sustainable, even in the Form of Fast Foods," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-22, September.
    5. Goldstein, Benjamin & Hansen, Steffen Foss & Gjerris, Mickey & Laurent, Alexis & Birkved, Morten, 2016. "Ethical aspects of life cycle assessments of diets," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 139-151.
    6. Lluís Serra-Majem & Laura Tomaino & Sandro Dernini & Elliot M. Berry & Denis Lairon & Joy Ngo de la Cruz & Anna Bach-Faig & Lorenzo M. Donini & Francesc-Xavier Medina & Rekia Belahsen & Suzanne Piscop, 2020. "Updating the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid towards Sustainability: Focus on Environmental Concerns," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-20, November.
    7. Birgit Kopainsky & Anita Frehner & Adrian Müller, 2020. "Sustainable and healthy diets: Synergies and trade‐offs in Switzerland," Systems Research and Behavioral Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(6), pages 908-927, November.
    8. Melanie Speck & Katrin Bienge & Lynn Wagner & Tobias Engelmann & Sebastian Schuster & Petra Teitscheid & Nina Langen, 2020. "Creating Sustainable Meals Supported by the NAHGAST Online Tool—Approach and Effects on GHG Emissions and Use of Natural Resources," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-13, February.
    9. Oriana Gava & Fabio Bartolini & Francesca Venturi & Gianluca Brunori & Angela Zinnai & Alberto Pardossi, 2018. "A Reflection of the Use of the Life Cycle Assessment Tool for Agri-Food Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-16, December.
    10. Perino, Grischa & Schwirplies, Claudia, 2022. "Meaty arguments and fishy effects: Field experimental evidence on the impact of reasons to reduce meat consumption," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    11. Irene (Eirini) Kamenidou & Aikaterini Stavrianea & Evangelia-Zoi Bara, 2020. "Generational Differences toward Organic Food Behavior: Insights from Five Generational Cohorts," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-25, March.
    12. Ghada Talat Alhothali & Noha M. Almoraie & Israa M. Shatwan & Najlaa M. Aljefree, 2021. "Sociodemographic Characteristics and Dietary Choices as Determinants of Climate Change Understanding and Concern in Saudi Arabia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(20), pages 1-14, October.
    13. Annala, Milla & Vinnari, Markus, 2019. "Content Analysis of TV Food Advertising Using Climate Impact and a Nutritional Impact Index," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 68-74.
    14. Anthony Fardet & Edmond Rock, 2020. "Ultra-Processed Foods and Food System Sustainability: What Are the Links?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-26, August.
    15. Erwan Gavelle & Pascal Leroy & Marjorie Perrimon & Jean-François Huneau & Véronique Sirot & Caroline Orset & Hélène Fouillet & Louis-Georges Soler & François Mariotti, 2020. "Modeled gradual changes in protein intake to increase nutrient adequacy lead to greater sustainability when systematically targeting an increase in the share of plant protein," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 161(1), pages 129-149, July.
    16. Cavaliere, Alessia & De Marchi, Elisa & Frola, Enrica Nadia & Benfenati, Alessandro & Aletti, Giacomo & Bacenetti, Jacopo & Banterle, Alessandro, 2023. "Exploring the environmental impact associated with the abandonment of the Mediterranean Diet, and how to reduce it with alternative sustainable diets," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    17. Béné, Christophe & Oosterveer, Peter & Lamotte, Lea & Brouwer, Inge D. & de Haan, Stef & Prager, Steve D. & Talsma, Elise F. & Khoury, Colin K., 2019. "When food systems meet sustainability – Current narratives and implications for actions," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 116-130.
    18. Deidre Bauer & Julia Arnold & Kerstin Kremer, 2018. "Consumption-Intention Formation in Education for Sustainable Development: An Adapted Model Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-13, September.
    19. Andrew Berardy & Carol S. Johnston & Alexandra Plukis & Maricarmen Vizcaino & Christopher Wharton, 2019. "Integrating Protein Quality and Quantity with Environmental Impacts in Life Cycle Assessment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-11, May.
    20. Jayne Hutchinson & Stephanie L. Prady & Michaela A. Smith & Piran C. L. White & Hilary M. Graham, 2015. "A Scoping Review of Observational Studies Examining Relationships between Environmental Behaviors and Health Behaviors," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-26, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:15:p:4110-:d:252927. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.