Impacts of a Shift to Plant Proteins

To restrict global warming to 1.5°C and avoid a further increase in catastrophic weather events, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions must be significantly cut by 2030. Agriculture, particularly unsustainably high livestock production, is one significant contributor to human made GHG emissions.

Global livestock production has an outsized environmental footprint. Reducing the meat produced and consumed in regions with exceedingly high animal protein intake and substituting it with alternative proteins could save large volumes of human-made greenhouse gas emissions as well as land and water.

The prominent actors in the global meat supply chain – slaughterhouses, retailers, and food service companies – account for a considerable share of meat sales and related profits. This gives them a responsibility for the associated GHG emissions and land and water footprint and to contribute to their reduction. Looking at 20 leading meat producers, a 30% cut in their annual beef, pork and chicken meat output and replacement with alternative protein products could reduce GHG emissions by a volume similar to the annual emissions of the Netherlands.

Based on different protein substitution scenarios, a replacement of half the beef, pork, and chicken meat sales of five leading international retailers and one food service companies could save more than 30 million tons of GHG emissions, similar to the annual emissions of Norway. It would further free a land area comparable to Iceland and save 270,000 swimming pools of blue water.

Fast-food chain McDonald’s with its worldwide restaurant network is alone responsible for sourcing around 1.5% of the global beef production. Despite recognising the large footprint, beef volumes used by the company have increased in recent years. Even based on conservative estimates, a 50% cut in beef sales by the chain and replacement with alternative products could save more than 15 million tons of GHG emissions, free a land area the size of Austria, and save the equivalent blue water volume of 80,000 swimming pools.

Large retailers and food service companies have an important role and responsibility in contributing to a protein shift.