one green planet
one green planet

A new report from IDTechEx has found that the meat industry is unsustainable in its current output. According to the report, the meat industry is worth $2 trillion and 100 billion pounds of meat was produced in the United States in 2017.

But as the world’s population grows to it’s expected 10 billion,  meat production will reach a level detrimental to the environment. Even as the industry grows, experts recognize the industry as an inefficient way to consume and produce calories. Only 33% of protein intake is from meat and dairy.

According to the report, meat is responsible for deforestation, soil degradation, water stress, coastal dead zones and increases in greenhouse gas emissions. Environmental degradation and agriculture is well recorded. But as this report says, 77% of the agriculture land is used for meat and dairy, and we only get 33% of global protein from these sources.

In short, we do not have the land area or environmental resources to use so much land for so little protein benefits. The report suggests a shift to plant-based and cultured meats. Many meat companies including Nestle and Tyson Foods have already introduced plant-based meat products to help fill market requests for products.

Learn more about plant-based diets, the environmental impact of meat and plant-based meat options in One Green Planet. Check out these articles:

Learn How to Cook Plant-Based Meals at Home

Reducing your meat intake and eating more plant-based foods is known to help with chronic inflammation, heart health, mental wellbeing, fitness goals, nutritional needs, allergies, gut health and more! Dairy consumption also has been linked many health problems, including acne, hormonal imbalance, cancer, prostate cancer and has many side effects. 

For those of you interested in eating more plant-based, we highly recommend downloading the Food Monster App — with over 15,000 delicious recipes it is the largest plant-based recipe resource to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals and get healthy! And, while you are at it, we encourage you to also learn about the environmental and health benefits of a plant-based diet.

Here are some resources to get you started:

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