HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Pimentel, D. Articles by Pimentel, M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Pimentel, D. Articles by Pimentel, M. Agricola Articles by Pimentel, D. Articles by Pimentel, M.

Sustainability of meat-based and plant-based diets and the environment^1,2,3

¹ From the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.

Worldwide, an estimated 2 billion people live primarily on a meat-based diet, while an estimated 4 billion live primarily on a plant-based diet. The US food production system uses about 50% of the total US land area, 80% of the fresh water, and 17% of the fossil energy used in the country. The heavy dependence on fossil energy suggests that the US food system, whether meat-based or plant-based, is not sustainable. The use of land and energy resources devoted to an average meat-based diet compared with a lactoovovegetarian (plant-based) diet is analyzed in this report. In both diets, the daily quantity of calories consumed are kept constant at about 3533 kcal per person. The meat-based food system requires more energy, land, and water resources than the lactoovovegetarian diet. In this limited sense, the lactoovovegetarian diet is more sustainable than the average American meat-based diet.

Key Words: Meat-based diet • plant-based diet • environment • natural resources • fossil • energy • fuel

This article has been cited by other articles:

				F. Contaldo and F. Pasanisi High-protein diet, obesity, and the environment Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, February 1, 2006; 83(2): 387 - 387. [Full Text] [PDF]