Reconsidering Animal vs. Plant-Based Diets – Part 2

or how to change the world on your plate

In the previous article, I talked about four reasons why the production and the eating of animal products is harmful for our Earth. Here, I want to give four reasons why I think we should still continue to eat meat, eggs and dairy products. Finally, I want to conclude with a vision of what a truly sustainable diet could look like.

Why should we still eat animal products?

1. Land doesn’t equal land

In the first part of this series, I talked about land being a scarce resource. Now, I want to delve into more detail on the topic of land.

Agricultural land is not always the same. It can either be used to grow crops or as a pasture for animals, called grasslands. Grassland, like steppes for example, naturally occur all over the globe. These are areas where soil or weather conditions don’t allow for growing crops, but only for growing grass. As I explored in my article What Is Efficient Farming?, pastures have the unique ability to remove tremendous amounts of carbon from the atmosphere. They can store even more carbon in their soil than forests can! And it is these grasslands that helped create the most fertile soils in the world. They can contain humus layers of several meters thickness, acting not only as a powerful carbon sink, but boosting soil productivity, too.

According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 2/3 of all agricultural land are grasslands worldwide. In the EU, 1/3 or agricultural land are grasslands, and they could (or should) not be used otherwise.

2. … and one animal doesn’t equal the other

Where animals come into the story is that they are the only ones who can ‘make use’ of grassland. Ruminants (cows, sheep and goats) have the unique ability of digesting grass. They have special microbes in their intestine that enable them to turn the cellulose of grass into nourishing compounds. …and eventually, into milk or meat. Humans, or other animals, are not capable of digesting grass!

This is what makes grasslands (and ruminants therefore) so valuable in the food chain. Without ruminants grazing on pastures, large areas of agricultural land couldn’t be used sustainably anymore. Again, land being a scarce resource, and with the population constantly rising, it is important to make wise & sustainable use of our land.

3. The potential of regenerative grazing

The other side of the coin is that a lot of native grasslands today are being converted into arable land. And with dire environmental consequences… This newly created arable land is much more prone to erosion. And much of the carbon that is stored in these precious grasslands is released into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change. Just the same as deforestation, such changes in land use are major triggers of global warming.

Here, one system of livestock farming (regenerative grazing) is replacing another (feeding large numbers of animals with crops).

In addition to the potential of pastures to revert climate change, grasslands are also hotspots of biodiversity. Many plant and insect species thrive only on grasslands. Herbivores (like cows, buffalos, sheep, goats etc.) are dependent on these ecosystems for their survival.

And seen globally, an estimated 1 billion poor depend on livestock for food and income. This makes the preservation and sustainable management of grasslands even more important.

And it shows us that livestock farming, and therefore the consumption of animal products, is not wrong per se. Rather, the question is how we raise animals, and how much animal products we consume.

Note: when you see the numbers for the carbon footprint of beef or lamb, they are mostly for crop-fed animals, not pasture raised animals. And they do not take into account the potential of regenerative grazing. Crop-fed ruminants and pigs are in direct competition with human nutrition, since arable land used to grow food for them could just as well be used to feed humans.

4. What people don’t want to eat…

Lastly, I want to mention that we also feed our livestock the food that nobody wants to eat, and that would otherwise be wasted. By-products of the milling, beer, cheese or sugar industry make wonderful, nutritious food for animals. People, on the other hand, can’t or don’t want to consume these foods. So, it would be a waste of resources not to have animals to feed these products to. And animal products, in contrast, are nutritious for human consumption.

With that said, this doesn’t mean that all vegetarians or vegans should start eating animal products again. With so many people eating far too many animal products, they somewhat compensate for excessive animal-based diets… I highly respect their choice not to eat animal products!

The solution: A balanced diet

As we have seen, it is important to look at the bigger picture when thinking about a sustainable diet for our world.

The crucial question is how much animal products we eat and in what kind of system these animals were held.

In the developed countries, we eat far too much meat, eggs and dairy products. The German Nutrition Society recommends a weekly intake of 300 to 600 grams of meat per person. At 600 g per week, this would equal a yearly intake of 31,8 kg (while the average German eats 70 kg per year – and Americans even 100 kg per year!).

In the past, people used to eat meat once a week – usually on Sundays, and on special occasions like Christmas and Easter. Meat used to be a luxury, but factory farming made it a cheap commodity.

Personally, I try to eat meat only once a week. And when I do, I make it a feast!

It is equally important to look at where our animal products come from. Were the animals raised on cereals and soybean, food that could be used to feed humans? Or were they grazing on a pasture, using their magnificent ability to transform grass into milk or meat? Were the animals raised with dignity?

Just a short side note: I did not write much about factory farming and the ethical aspect of livestock farming. While no farmer holds animals with the intention to torture them, economic constraints often leave little space for hounorable living conditions for animals. For this reason, I avoid eating pork and watch out for sustainably produced eggs and dairy products.

I know that for people with little background knowledge in farming, it is difficult to discern between sustainable and non-sustainable production. Therefore, I will explore this topic more in detail in the coming months here on the blog.

How you can change the world on YOUR plate

In summary, I suggest…

• to drastically cut down our consumption of animal products. If for you, this means eating one animal-based meal less per week, that’s great! If you can replace even more animal products with plants, that’s even better.
• to turn to sustainably, pasture-raised meat and milk from cattle, sheep or goats.
• to eat little, but good quality meat, dairy and eggs. If you’re worried that this will be too expensive: by simply eating less of it, it can even turn out to be less expensive at the bottom-line!

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I hope these tips were useful to you. Do you agree with my viewpoints? What is your take on a sustainable diet? Let me know in the comments below!

As always, thank you so much for reading!