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Meat and Dairy Alternatives Could Cut Food System Emissions by 31%, Study Finds

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28 Oct, 2023

This post was originally published on Eco Watch

The consumption of meat and dairy products puts an enormous strain on the planet. Replacing forests with grasslands for grazing cattle and growing grain used for their feed means releasing stored carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change. And cow burps release methane, the second most prevalent greenhouse gas, which has a greater warming effect than carbon dioxide.

A new study has found that replacing half the chicken, beef, pork and milk products consumed by humans with plant-based alternatives has the potential to reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, as well as related land use, by almost one-third. The reduction would also effectively stop forest loss.

“Plant-based meats are not just a novel food product but a critical opportunity for achieving food security and climate goals while also achieving health and biodiversity objectives worldwide,” said study co-author Eva Wollenberg, an anthropologist and natural resource management specialist with the Gund Institute for Environment at the University of Vermont, as AFP reported.

Global demand for animal products is set to increase due to higher incomes and population growth, which could lead to detrimental consequences for the environment.

“Higher meat demand is usually associated with higher incomes and dietary shifts related to urbanization, which favor proteins from animal sources in diets,” Marta Kozicka, an agricultural economist and research scholar with the Integrated Biosphere Futures Research Group at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis near Vienna, Austria, told EcoWatch in an email.

The study, “Feeding climate and biodiversity goals with novel plant-based meat and milk alternatives,” was published in the journal Nature Communications.

Using modeling, the researchers looked at the results of a global dietary move toward plant-based alternatives to chicken, beef, pork and milk with comparable nutritional value, reported AFP.

“We based our analysis on the Global Biosphere Management Model (GLOBIOM), an economic partial equilibrium model that integrates global agriculture, bioenergy, and forestry sectors. It is a powerful tool that allows for exploration of future scenarios for food and agricultural systems,” Kozicka told EcoWatch.

The results suggested that reducing consumption of meat and dairy by 50 percent could lead to greenhouse gas emissions from land use and agriculture being reduced by 31 percent by 2050, as compared to 2020 levels.

Organic vegan milk options include oat milk, soy milk, coconut milk and almond milk, among others. carlosgaw / E+ / Getty Images

If that were to happen, instead of continuing to expand, agricultural land use would be reduced by 12 percent. In addition, areas of natural land and forests would stay at about the same level as they were in 2020.

Nitrogen used for crops would be cut nearly in half as compared to current projections, and water use would be reduced by 10 percent.

But how realistic is it to expect people around the world to reduce their meat and dairy consumption by half?

“We argue that achieving up to 50% substitution by 2050 is realistic, especially if we consider replacement of the animal products not only with the novel plant-based alternatives, but also with traditional plant-based products, such as tofu, and other novel meat substitutes, whether cell-based or insect-based,” Kozicka said.

One of the main considerations for consumers thinking about replacing some of the meat and dairy they eat with plant-based alternatives is cost, Kozicka explained.

“A major factor that will determine how the novel plant-based alternatives’ markets evolve is the price of the products, as currently they are generally more expensive than their animal sourced analogues. In this process, policies and regulations, as well as the market development (how good the products are, what is their price) could all play a role,” Kozicka told EcoWatch.

Access to affordable, healthy alternative foods is another issue that needs to be addressed.

“According to the FAO ‘The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2023,’ more than 3.1 billion people in the world – or 42 percent – were unable to afford a healthy diet in 2021, representing an increase of 134 million people compared to 2019, before the pandemic,” Kozicka said. “This reflects the increase in the cost of a healthy diet that, in many countries, occurred in combination with a decline in disposable income.”

Kozicka added that, according to studies, healthy and sustainable diets were significantly less expensive in countries that had upper-middle to high incomes, but more expensive in lower-middle to low-income countries.

“This is why it is so important to improve the availability and accessibility of foods that constitute these diets,” Kozicka told EcoWatch.

A shift toward plant-based alternatives would improve food security around the world, according to the study, as there would be 31 million fewer people facing malnutrition by mid-century.

Biodiversity would be enhanced as well, with the land area being restored making up from 13 to 25 percent of the approximate land restoration necessary to meet the 30-by-30 goal to conserve 30 percent of marine and land habitat around the world by 2030.

“Plant-based foods require much less land than their animal-source equivalents. As a result, deforestation and conversion of other natural land into agricultural land could be significantly reduced, or even stopped thanks to this dietary change. This would reduce biodiversity loss. Furthermore, in our study we considered an additional measure to restore the agricultural land spared from livestock and feed production within forest biomes through afforestation with biodiversity-friendly management. This would restore some of the biodiversity that had been lost,” Kozicka said.

The greatest reductions in biodiversity loss would be in sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia and China. Carbon sequestration would see the biggest improvements in South America — primarily Brazil — and sub-Saharan Africa.

The study also suggested that ecosystem decline would be cut in half by 2050.

Just replacing beef with plant-based alternatives would result in about half the reductions in emissions of all four animal products combined.

The researchers said small-scale farmers who rely on livestock should be taken into consideration, but pointed out that climate change presented a substantial risk to their livelihoods.

“Importantly, the changes need to happen across the food system, that is, measures to shift demand towards healthy and sustainable diets need to be accompanied by interventions to ensure availability and accessibility of nutritious plant-based foods. This will require, among others, sustainable intensification of agricultural production, support for farmers and other stakeholders that might be negatively affected by the transition, as well as additional environmental measures that will ensure achievement of the maximum environmental benefits,” Kozicka told EcoWatch.

Kozicka said that a transition to more plant-based food choices is one of the essential changes necessary for a healthy future free of fossil fuels.

“Different studies show that sustainable diets will be an important component of a larger bundle of measures taken to meet climate change mitigation targets. Importantly, predominantly plant-based diets are good not only for the planet, but also for our health,” Kozicka said.

The post Meat and Dairy Alternatives Could Cut Food System Emissions by 31%, Study Finds appeared first on EcoWatch.

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Taking the electronic pulse of the circular economy

Taking the electronic pulse of the circular economy

In June, I had the privilege of attending the 2025 E-Waste World, Battery Recycling, Metal Recycling, and ITAD & Circular Electronics Conference & Expo events in Frankfurt, Germany.

Speaking in the ITAD & Circular Electronics track on a panel with global Circular Economy leaders from Foxway Group, ERI and HP, we explored the evolving role of IT asset disposition (ITAD) and opportunities in the circular electronics economy.

The event’s focus on advancing circular economy goals and reducing environmental impact delivered a series of insights and learnings. From this assembly of international expertise across 75+ countries, here are some points from the presentations that stood out for me:

1. Environmental impact of the digital economy

Digitalisation has a heavy material footprint in the production phase, and lifecycle thinking needs to guide every product decision. Consider that 81% of the energy a laptop uses in its lifetime is consumed during manufacture (1 tonne in manufacture is equal to 10,000 tonnes of CO2) and laptops are typically refreshed or replaced by companies every 3–4 years.

From 2018 to 2023, the average number of devices and connections per capita in the world increased by 50% (2.4 to 3.6). In North America (8.2 to 13.4) and Western Europe (5.6 to 9.4), this almost doubled. In 1960, only 10 periodic table elements were used to make phones. In 1990, 27 elements were used and now over 60 elements are used to build the smartphones that we have become so reliant on.

A key challenge is that low-carbon and digital technologies largely compete for the same minerals. Material resource extraction could increase 60% between 2020 and 2060, while demand for lithium, cobalt and graphite is expected to rise by 500% until 2050.

High growth in ICT demand and Internet requires more attention to the environmental footprint of the digital economy. Energy consumption of data centres is expected to more than double by 2026. The electronics industry accounts for over 4% of global GHG — and digitalisation-related waste is growing, with skewed impacts on developing countries.

E-waste is rising five times faster than recycling — 1 tonne of e-waste has a carbon footprint of 2 tonnes. Today’s solution? ‘Bury it or burn it.’ In terms of spent emissions, waste and the costs associated with end-of-life liabilities, PCBAs (printed circuit board assembly) cost us enormously — they generally achieve 3–5% recyclability (75% of CO2 in PCBAs is from components).

2. Regulating circularity in electronics

There is good momentum across jurisdictions in right-to-repair, design and labelling regulations; recycling targets; and voluntary frameworks on circularity and eco-design.

The EU is at the forefront. EU legislation is lifting the ICT aftermarket, providing new opportunities for IT asset disposition (ITAD) businesses. To get a sense, the global market for electronics recycling is estimated to grow from $37 billion to $108 billion (2022–2030). The value of refurbished electronics is estimated to increase from $85.9 billion to $262.2 billion (2022–2032). Strikingly, 40% of companies do not have a formal ITAD strategy in place.

Significantly, the EU is rethinking its Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) management targets, aligned with upcoming circularity and WEEE legislation, as part of efforts to foster the circular economy. A more robust and realistic circularity-driven approach to setting collection targets would better reflect various factors including long lifespans of electronic products and market fluctuations.

Australia and New Zealand lag the EU’s comprehensive e-waste mandated frameworks. The lack of a systematic approach results in environmental degradation and missed positioning opportunities for businesses in the circular economy. While Australia’s Senate inquiry into waste reduction and recycling recommended legislating a full circular economy framework — including for imported and local product design, financial incentives and regulatory enforcement, New Zealand remains the only OECD country without a national scheme to manage e-waste.

3. Extending product lifecycles

Along with data security and digital tools, reuse was a key theme in the ITAD & Circular Electronics track of the conference. The sustainable tech company that I lead, Greenbox, recognises that reuse is the simplest circular strategy. Devices that are still functional undergo refurbishment and are reintroduced into the market, reducing new production need and conserving valuable resources.

Conference presenters highlighted how repair over replacement is being legislated as a right in jurisdictions around the world. Resources are saved, costs are lowered, product life is extended, and people and organisations are empowered to support a greener future. It was pointed out that just 43% of countries have recycling policies, 17% of global waste is formally recycled, and less than 1% of global e-waste is formally repaired and reused.

Right to repair is a rising wave in the circular economy, and legislation is one way that civil society is pushing back on programmed obsolescence. Its global momentum continues at different speeds for different product categories — from the recent EU mandates to multiple US state bills (and some laws) through to repair and reuse steps in India, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

The European Commission’s Joint Research Commission has done a scoping study to identify product groups under the Ecodesign framework that would be most relevant for implementing an EU-wide product reparability scoring system.

Attending this event with the entire electronic waste recycling supply chain — from peers and partners to suppliers and customers — underscored the importance of sharing best practices to address the environmental challenges that increased hardware proliferation and complex related issues are having on the world.

Ross Thompson is Group CEO of sustainability, data management and technology asset lifecycle management market leader Greenbox. With facilities in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, Greenbox Group provides customers all over the world a carbon-neutral supply chain for IT equipment to reduce their carbon footprint by actively managing their environmental, social and governance obligations.

Image credit: iStock.com/Mustafa Ovec

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