Please note!

This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.

Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Would greenhouse gas emissions increase if everyone went vegan?

Sunday, November 28, 2021

By Lisa Freedland

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Much research indicates that greenhouse gas emissions would decrease, not increase, if everyone went vegan.

A 2016 study published in PNAS found that a vegan diet would cut food-related emissions by 70%. A more conservative estimate from 2017, which factored in emissions from food waste currently fed to livestock that would have to be burned, found that switching to a vegan food system would decrease U.S. agricultural greenhouse gas emissions by 28%.

Due to the feed and land livestock require, and the waste they generate, animal agriculture has a much higher carbon footprint than plant agriculture. For example, 100 grams of protein from beef generates 50 times more emissions than an equivalent serving of beans.

A 2014 study found that meat-eaters emitted between 99% and 102% more greenhouse gases than vegans. These findings are supported by a 2021 study that found global greenhouse gas emissions from animal-based foods are twice those of plant-based foods.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Analysis and valuation of the health and climate change cobenefits of dietary change

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Nutritional and greenhouse gas impacts of removing animals from US agriculture

Our World in Data The carbon footprint of foods: are differences explained by the impacts of methane?

Climatic Change Dietary greenhouse gas emissions of meat-eaters, fish-eaters, vegetarians and vegans in the UK

Nature Global greenhouse gas emissions from animal-based foods are twice those of plant-based foods

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Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

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About fact briefs published on Gigafact

Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.