doWhat if the world went vegan? Although it’s a question we’ve all asked ourselves at least once in our lives, no one has ever given a real answer on the matter. Years ago, more specifically in 2016, a group of scientists from Oxford decided to put an end to this Hamlet-like doubt and try to provide an answer, then publishing the results in the scientific journal PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences). Here is their response
“If we were all vegan, we would still have problems because the world would need a lot of vegetables or alternative sources of protein and there wouldn’t be land, water and other resources for this huge demand.” Who hasn’t heard someone repeat it?
In fact this is not the case in reality, in fact all the animals that we consume must also eat and this means that over the years the majority of the emerging land is dedicated to monocultures which have contributed to the destruction of the soil through the loss of biodiversity, the increase of resistant pests, the depletion of minerals present in the soil.
Cultures
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The point is that today we are failing to achieve the goals of sustainable development United Nations And among them is precisely the promise to end poverty and extreme hunger in the world, as well as to promote education, reduce inequalities and fight climate change.
So?
In fact, according to the Oxford Martin School researchers who wrote the article mentioned above, the answer is clear: “a global shift to diets based less on meat and more on fruit and vegetables could save up to 8 million lives by 2050to reduce it 2/3 of greenhouse gas emissionsavoid damage due to global warming for 1.5 trillion dollars and economic health benefits, given that consumption of red and processed meat accounts for most of the health burden in many regions of the world.”
The research developed about 4 diet scenarios:
- Business as usual
- A diet based on global eating habits that includes few vegetables and a lot of meat, sugar and calories
- A vegetarian diet
- A vegan diet
Apparently this study was conducted with the aim of investigating what the economic, social and health effects of gradually more plant-based diets might be.
The conclusions of the 4 types of diet led to encouraging results in cases of greater consumption of vegetables at the expense of other types of food.
But what is the situation today?
Surprisingly, good news arrives from abroad: the World Association for Animal Protection (WAP), which has collected data on the supply/demand of “fake meat” products, found that 1 million animals were saved in 2021. This is due to the clear increase in consumption plant products. The pandemic would have spurred this change: in 2020, in fact, the US food market was reshaped and sales of meat alternatives increased by 200%.
In conclusion, what if we all went vegan?
Quite simply, by 2050, emissions associated with the food industry will be reduced by around 60% and 80% of rangeland will be restored to grassland and forest status, which in turn would help mitigate climate change, increasing biodiversity and everything would be easier.
Now all that’s left is to make your choice and find the balance that best suits each of us, without judgment and without confrontations!
Federica Gasbarro works with The Wom independently and is in no way associated with the advertisements that may appear in this content.