It's widely recognized that meat and dairy products contribute significantly to the climate crisis. Without reducing our reliance on these animal-based foods, it will be difficult to avoid severe global warming.
However, determining the best alternatives to replace burgers and cheese with remains unclear. What options are healthiest for us and the planet, while also being affordable? A recent study aimed to answer these questions.
The study evaluated a variety of meat and dairy substitutes, considering their nutritional content, health benefits, environmental impact, and cost. These alternatives included traditional plant-based options like tofu and tempeh, processed foods such as veggie burgers and plant-based milks, emerging innovations like lab-grown meat, and simple foods like soybeans and peas.
The Winning Option: Beans and Legumes
The results showed that unprocessed plant-based foods—particularly legumes such as soybeans, peas, and beans—are the best substitutes for meat and dairy. Switching from animal products to legumes could reduce nutritional deficiencies in high-income countries like the US and the UK by half. Additionally, this shift could lower the death rate by up to 10%, mainly by reducing the risks of diet-related diseases such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes.
Furthermore, legumes require significantly less land and water to grow, and they produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions compared to animal-based products. This transition could also result in food costs dropping by more than 30%.
Processed Alternatives: Veggie Burgers and Plant Milks
Processed plant-based products, such as veggie burgers and plant milks, still offer notable benefits for those looking to replace meat and dairy. However, their emissions reductions and health improvements were lower by 20% to 30% compared to unprocessed legumes. The cost of processed alternatives was also about 10% higher than traditional diets.
Both processed and unprocessed alternatives are higher in fiber, potassium, and polyunsaturated fats, and lower in cholesterol, saturated fat, and heme iron. These changes in nutritional profiles help reduce disease risks. Although processing plant-based foods consumes more energy, leading to higher costs and emissions, they still have a much lower environmental impact than meat and dairy.
Tempeh: A Surprise Winner
While legumes like peas and beans emerged as the top choice, another surprising alternative was tempeh. This traditional Indonesian food, made from fermented soybeans, maintains much of the nutritional value of soybeans with minimal processing and additives. Its low cost and favorable health and environmental impacts made it a strong contender, outshining more processed options like veggie burgers.
Lab-Grown Meat: A Setback
An unexpected finding in the study was the poor performance of lab-grown meat. Despite being in development, lab-grown meat, which involves growing animal tissue in a lab, currently has high emissions and costs. In fact, it can generate emissions similar to those of beef burgers and cost up to 40,000 times more. The health impacts are also comparable to conventional meat, and while improvements in production technology could lower emissions and costs, this would require significant investment and technological advancements.
Given the environmental and health impacts, the study suggests that public investment in lab-grown meat and ultra-processed plant-based foods may not be the best approach. In contrast, readily available, affordable alternatives that require no new technology or development could provide more immediate benefits.
A Call for Policy Change
The study calls for policies that make it easier for people to eat healthily and sustainably. Rather than focusing on ultra-processed alternatives, the best choices for replacing meat and dairy are whole foods—especially in the form of whole meals.
Why not try a bean chili, chickpea curry, or tempeh stir-fry? Or perhaps some mashed peas on whole-grain bread? These meals offer balanced nutrition while lowering your environmental impact, often at a lower cost than traditional fast food.
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