Vegetarian Diet: Will It Save the Planet or Disrupt Human Health?

Environmental scientists are calling on world leaders to find ways to reduce carbon emissions as quickly as possible. One of the factors influencing the environment is society’s dietary habits, which account for a quarter of the total carbon footprint of humans. Research shows that meat and dairy consumption in the West is a major contributor to global warming.

On the Vilnius University podcast, Mokslas Be Pamokslų, climatologist Prof. Egidijus Rimkus and nutrition expert Prof. Rimantas Stukas discuss whether a vegetarian diet will save the planet or rather disrupt people’s health and the ways to minimize the impact of our eating habits on the environment and get all the nutrients we need.

Vegetarians help the planet

There is no doubt that diet directly impacts human health and, according to Prof. E. Rimkus, has an indirect impact on our environment. “The environment may not care what we eat, but it does care about where our food comes from and how it is produced,” the climatologist says.

Livestock farming is responsible for around 14% of all greenhouse gas emissions, he said. Livestock produces exceptionally high levels of methane gas, which contributes significantly to climate warming. Besides, the leading cause of deforestation worldwide is the expansion of grazing land. Therefore, he says, by giving up meat, people are undoubtedly helping the planet they live on.

“The world population is growing. On 15 November, there will be 8 billion of us and probably 9.5 to 10 billion by 2050. We are living increasingly hearty lives, more and more of the world is demanding more meat, and more and more land is being devoted to livestock farming, even though the products of livestock farming only provide 20% of our calorie needs.”

The professor said the critical problem with Europeans is they eat overeat meat: “If Europe and the United States were to halve their meat consumption, it would probably not be detrimental to health but it would almost put a stop to the deforestation that is being carried out for the sake of growing more meat, or for the sake of growing more soy products, which are also used mostly as fodder. So, it’s not about the benefits of the meat, it’s about the quantity of the meat. Even small amounts of meat are probably enough to benefit the human body.”

Bull farms have a higher environmental impact, while chicken or pig farms have a lower impact.

A vegetarian diet is like walking a tightrope

Professor at the Faculty of Medicine R. Stukas confirms that Lithuanians also consume too much red meat. If Lithuanians halved their consumption of red meat and doubled their consumption of vegetables and fruit, their diets would be much healthier.

“There is also a lot that depends on the meat we eat. Some products contain virtually no real meat, but when we eat them, we think we are eating meat. For example, second-rate sausage may not contain any meat at all,” says the professor.

There are general recommendations and guidelines for a healthy diet, he says. I.e., people should strive to eat various foods every day, choose foods from different food groups, follow a dietary regime, and, of course, the principle of moderation. The recommendation is to eat up to 80 g of meat per day.

Although around 10% of the world’s population is vegetarian, health experts do not consider this diet a complete one.

“If a person is a conscious vegetarian or vegan, has a basic understanding of the basic principles of nutrition, and is aware of what can compensate for the nutrients the body does not get, they may be able to adjust their diet to a large extent and may be able to use certain food supplements without suffering significant damage to health. However, if a person does not have this knowledge and refuses animal products, eats only plant-based products, and does not think about how to supplement or modify an inadequate vegetarian diet, this can lead to health problems over time,” he says.

Subjectively, a person who doesn’t eat meat may feel lighter, better, and more energetic, but Prof. Stukas says that a vegetarian diet is like walking a tightrope because a person who has survived certain extreme events, surgeries, traumas where a lot of blood is lost, runs the risk of experiencing a great deal of ill health, or even of death if they don’t have the stored-up iron reserves.

Balance – a service to yourself and the environment

The nutritionist stresses that neither of the extremes is good. There is no need to make the whole diet about meat. Meat is a part of a much more abundant product group, with both fish and eggs.

“We often see meat as the only source of protein, but fish is also a great source of protein. If people were to cut down on red meat consumption, and if diets were deliberately revised to include good quality fish and seafood, health would certainly not deteriorate,” he said.

As far as a balanced daily diet is concerned, Prof. E. Rimkus believes that it may be challenging to make a radical change in one’s habits and give up meat altogether, but if we do without meat in our diets for just one day and replace it with other products, such as fish, then we will be doing a service to both our bodies and the environment.

“It is very easy to take measures to reduce pollution that are further away from us, from our bodies. For example, it’s quite easy to recycle, and sometimes it might be easy to give up a car journey. But diet is more intimate and harder to change,” Prof. E. Rimkus believes.

Prof. R. Stukas seconds this idea. He says that eating habits are formed in childhood, in the family, because that’s where the child usually eats and sees what others eat.

Of course, it is always possible to artificially force people to drive less (by reducing parking spaces) or to eat less meat (by raising the price of meat), but that wouldn’t exactly be good. Scientists believe that applying dietary bans would only backfire. A better way would, therefore, be to spread the word about what we can all do for ourselves and the environment by making small changes to our eating habits.

According to Prof. R. Stukas, a person’s health is 50% determined by their lifestyle, and one of the most important lifestyle factors is diet. The professor is, therefore, convinced that people can become active managers of their own health. If they eat a healthy diet, their health will be 30% stronger.