Plant-based diet is better for your body and the environment, experts say

By Galia Myron
April 24, 2009

Not only do thin people consume fewer resources, transporting slim people takes less energy, say British experts who compared the toll that slim populations versus overweight populations take on the environment. The study, by researchers Phil Edwards and Ian Roberts of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine’s Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, will appear in the International Journal of Epidemiology.

Because food production is a key contributor to global warming, the authors decided to examine the effects of lean versus heavy peoples on their environments. A lean population, they argue, such as that in Vietnam, consumes 20 percent less food and produces fewer greenhouse gas emissions than a population that is 40 percent obese, such as the United States.

Furthermore, because it takes less energy to transport lighter people, Edwards and Roberts add, transport-related emissions are lower in slim populations. A lean population of one billion people, they calculate, would emit 1,000 million tonnes less than an overweight one.

“When it comes to food consumption, moving about in a heavy body is like driving around in a gas guzzler,” the authors write. “The heavier our bodies become the harder and more unpleasant it is to move about in them and the more dependent we become on our cars. Staying slim is good for health and for the environment. We need to be doing a lot more to reverse the global trend towards fatness, and recognize it as a key factor in the battle to reduce emissions and slow climate change.”

The average body mass index of most Western nations has been steadily increasing, the researchers warn, with both British men and women suffering higher BMIs over time.

Which way of eating would be most effective to preserve the planet and slim down populations? Experts overwhelmingly agree that a plant-based diet is most effective to fight both environmental damage and the battle of the bulge.

“While there are many reasons to not eat animal products, two of the most significant for me personally were the health benefits as well as the environmental benefits,” says Chicago-based environmental professional Andy Forquer, who is vegan. “Animals can be thought of as extremely inefficient machines that require an enormous caloric investment that is reflected in only ten percent of the product. The same follows for the energy investment and the associated emissions, such that an omnivorous diet tends to consume, approximately ten times the amount of water and energy compared to a vegan diet.”

Farm Sanctuary Education Manager Matt Rice says the study makes sense, and that the right diet can provide a healthier body and cleaner environment. Studies have shown that on average, vegans tend to weigh ten to twenty pounds less than their meat-eating counterparts, he explains, which may be at least partially due to less saturated fat consumption.

The environmental impact of diet goes farther, he says, than just a matter of body weight. “The environment is greatly affected by our dietary choices,” Rice explains.

Citing the 2006 United Nations report entitled Livestock’s Long Shadow, Rice explains that the UN research found that the meat industry one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the gravest environmental problems at every scale from local to global.

“They found—and other studies have corroborated this—that animal agriculture is responsible for more deadly greenhouse gasses than all the forms of transportation in the world combined,” Rice contends. “These greenhouse gases accelerate global warming and climate change, leading to catastrophic disasters around the world.”

People are becoming more aware of the connection between diet and the environment. “More and more environmental organizations are coming around to this message,” he tells demo dirt. “After the release of the UN report more of them are stepping up to the plate about our dietary choices and the environment.”

Animal rights advocates have known about this connection for a long time. “At Farm Sanctuary we advocate a vegan diet; we focus on eco-friendly plant-based food sources,” he says.

While many people choose to go vegan because they care about animals and don’t want them to suffer, he adds, the environmental and health advantages are clear. “There are health benefits and environmental reasons to go vegan,” Rice states. “When you eat lower on the food chain, you conserve valuable resources and energy.”

“There is so much water and energy waste that is lost by running it through an animal,” Forquer agrees. “If you want to reduce your impact, eat lower on the trophic levels; there is more waste and energy required associated with the animal the higher up the trophic level.”

Forquer cites a University of Chicago study that supports the other studies. “Their findings were that switching to a vegan diet would likely have an even greater impact in reducing emissions than switching to a Prius.”

Jill Nussinow, MS, RD is a fellow of the Leadership Institute for Ecology and the Economy.“My best advice for staying slim is to stick with plant foods, especially locally grown and sustainable produce as the base for a good diet, along with regional legumes as a protein source,” she says. “Eating this way will help people stay slimmer and not eating meat is good for the environment.”

Nutritionist Kate Geagan, author of Go Green, Get Lean: Trim Your Waistline with the Ultimate Low-Carbon Footprint Diet says she is “not surprised at all” by the British study findings. “The CDC found something similar a few years ago when they looked at the millions of additional gallons of airplane fuel needed to tote around Americans’ roughly ten pound weight gain in the past decade.”

Shawn M. Talbott, Ph.D., Nutritional Biochemist and Author, agrees. “Heavier people not only have a ‘less green’ diet—high consumption of processed food and meat has a much larger carbon footprint than fruits veggies—but heavier folks also contribute more greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere simply as a result of more gallons of gas being burned to move them around in cars,” he argues. “The food industry accounts for about 20 percent of all the energy consumption in the USA—this is huge—and the high consumption of processed foods is directly related to that high energy footprint.”

These findings are featured in the new documentary Killer at Large, which explores the causes and solutions that underlie the American obesity epidemic. Citing research from the film, Talbott adds, “’For every extra pound of weight the average American gains, we’re using slightly over 39 million additional gallons of fuel’—so this new study just confirms what we have already known for some time, and hopefully will encourage people that by losing weight they can do something for their personal health that also benefits the health of the planet at the same time.”

Nutritionist Deanna Minich, PhD, CN agrees. “This study makes perfect sense on many levels and I am glad that the word is getting out. Being obese means increased utilization of environmental resources on several accounts—and, unfortunately, the effect on the fragile food supply has been long neglected in having this recognition,” she tells demo dirt. “Hopefully, people will read this study and want to make a change in their eating habits -if not for themselves, then for the longevity of the planet!”

Like many other environmental and health experts, Minich recommends a plant-based diet for health and for the earth. In a perfect world, a vegan raw diet would be best for health and the planet, she says, but knowing that few strive to such an ideal, she adds, “Reducing meat consumption would be a strong second since numerous resources are involved in raising animals. A recently published study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (May 2009) reported that a vegetarian diet used less resources, including water, fertilizer, and pesticides, than a non-vegetarian diet, primarily due to the lack of consumption of beef.”

The less meat and other animal products consumed, the slimmer and healthier people tend to be, enjoying lower BMIs and lower rates of Type 2 diabetes, Minich adds. That research, by Loma Linda University, was recently published in the journal Diabetes Care.

“The American Diet is the SUV of eating styles—literally—and it’s making us fat, unhealthy, and contributing to global warming,” Geagan says. “Now we see it’s in more ways than one. The good news, though, is that a few easy changes are all it takes.”

Her top recommendation is to eat plant-based as much as possible. “The amount of meat and dairy intake is one of the biggest determinants of carbon footprint,” Geagan explains. “They’re also two of the top sources of saturated fat.”

Citing the study that Forquer mentions, Geagan adds, “A 2006 study found that eating more vegetarian can be the equivalent of stepping into a more fuel efficient vehicle.”

Geagan also suggests cutting portion sizes altogether. “Eat less food. The U.S. food system today produces about 3800 calories per person per day; this contributes to both carbon and belly bloat. Eat less, take less, waste less. All of this will help trim your impact.”

Finally, she says, be mindful of liquid calories and what they come in. “Think your drink. Liquid calories don’t register with the brain to promote satiety the way food calories do,” Geagan concludes. “They’re also incredibly fossil fuel intensive to bring to you in terms of bottles, cans, and refrigerated cases.”

Yoga instructor and fitness and wellness coach Karen B. Cohen advocates earth-friendly physical activities, buying locally and eating a plant-based diet. Our health and wellness, she explains, is determined by a number of factors. “Many of the factors leading to overweight conditions and obesity are directly related to use of technology, transportation, highly processed foods, and a diet heavy on meat and dairy products—all factors that are also related to global warming and pollution issues,” Cohen explains.

Cohen, who recommends a diet of at least 80 percent plant foods, echoes Rice’s concerns about the negative impact animal agriculture has on our environment. “One of the most overlooked sources of methane gas release and ammonia pollution is from cattle,” she explains. “The statistics are astounding as to how much they produce. And a diet heavy on meat and dairy is to blame for weight issues, certain cancers, and heart disease.”

In addition to compromised air quality, water scarcity is also a problem, Rice adds. ”Not eating a pound of beef saves as much water as not showering for nearly six months,” he explains. “Fresh water is a scarce resource. Although more than two-thirds of the earth is covered with water, what we can drink is very limited, and it is used at a phenomenal rate by the animal agriculture industry. Even in drought-stricken areas, the industry demands more.”

“Animal agriculture devastates the water supply; it requires a lot of water,” he notes. “It takes many times more water to raise the grain to feed farm animals than to raise the grain to feed humans.”

What little precious water we have, animal agriculture threatens to poison. “Animals raised for food generate 100 times more excrement than the entire human population in the United States, and it is 160 times as toxic as human waste,” Rice explains.

That waste goes untreated, he adds. “It sits in manure lagoons—those are big pits on factory farms; [farm workers] wash all the waste out of the sheds and it just sits and rots, sending contaminants into the air we breathe. Whenever there is a breach or a flood, the manure lagoons leak into rivers, streams, ground water and water ways.”

Factory farms, says the EPA, are the single largest source of the most significant pollution of 35,000 miles of river water in 22 of the United States. Poorer air and water quality, even deforestation to raise livestock, have all been blamed on animal agriculture. “On every level the meat industry disastrous for our environment,” Rice says, citing the UN report.

It is also incredibly inefficient in terms of food production for human consumption. “More then 70 percent of the edible grain in this country is fed to livestock,” Rice adds. “If we take all the grains and cereal and feed humans, we could feed more than the 800 million people worldwide that go hungry every day.”

Another way to help the environment, Cohen adds, is to get active, which is good for your body and the earth. “Many of the activities and choices that we may make for our health are also beneficial to the health of the planet,” she says. “Walking or [riding your] bicycle more, playing games outside instead of video games and watching TV, eating less overly packaged and overly processed foods and even less food overall will all help.”

Eating lighter also helps you stay light on your feet. A competitive marathon runner, Forquer says that his athletic performance improved after he went vegan. “I didn’t feel as weighed down after eating,” he notes.

Rice, a former Marine, knows several vegans who currently serve in the military. “They tend to have more stamina than their meat-eating counterparts,” he says. “They are able to keep going when their peers have gotten tired and worn out.”

Some fitness experts are concerned that news of this study may increase prejudicial rhetoric against the overweight or obese. “There are skinny people that drive gas-guzzling SUVs and Hummers, enjoy lots of AC in the summer, carelessly leave lights on, recycle nothing, buy overly-traveled food, or eat lots of meat. Whether lean or not-so-lean, meat can leave a hefty carbon footprint, by the way,” says Jackie Newgent, RD, culinary nutritionist and author of Big Green Cookbook.

“Also, I don’t believe that touting the results of this study is going to help someone lose weight. The best way to promote weight loss is not by playing a personal blame game; it’s by being encouraging, by inspiring, by providing sound nutrition advice. In Big Green Cookbook I encourage people to follow an ecotarian eating plan,” Newgent explains. “Ecotarians will choose foods based on environmental sustainability, which means eating plenty of veggies and little or no meat. A plant-based diet is a healthful approach for being both weight- and planet-friendly in the short- and long-run. And, yes, walking more and driving less is good, too.”

Atlanta-based fitness expert and owner of Café Physique Amber O’Neal agrees with Newgent. Also citing SUV use and meat-eating, which slim people do, she adds, “Smoking cigarettes, for example, is a habit often used by people to remain slim because weight-gain is a common side effect of kicking the smoking habit. Is blowing second-hand smoke into the air better for the environment than having a high BMI?”

O’Neal is concerned the heavy people who already may suffer from emotional issues will feel even worse due to the study results. “I have yet to meet a fat person who doesn’t already feel pretty darn bad about where they are,” she argues. “Publishing this report and rubbing their faces in it not only feels cruel and unkind, but it is also making the situation worse.”

“Overweight people are going to become defensive and feel overwhelmed and depressed. Nearly every expert agrees that permanent change rarely comes from a place of guilt and depression,” O’Neal maintains.

Like Newgent, she advocates a positive attitude to promote change. “In the wellness industry, we are almost always most successful helping clients make permanent lifestyle changes when we lift them up, encourage them, and smile while gently holding them accountable for the choices they make everyday,” O’Neal, who was once overweight herself, contends.

As we want to be kinder to people, we should also consider kindness to animals. Our dietary choices are extremely powerful, Rice maintains. Not only can we enjoy better health and a cleaner environment with a plant-based diet, we can also create a more compassionate and more peaceful world. “There is so much violence in the world that we have no control over,” Rice explains. “We all have the power to reduce some violence. For me, eating vegan is a political decision. I’m voting for a kinder world every time I sit down to eat.”

News relevant to demographic trends–such as the generational trends of Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y, and Matures–is posted several times a week on www.demodirt.com and demo dirt GOLD. To contact the editor, please email Galia Myron.

Technorati Tags: becoming vegan, eating for the earth, vegan, vegan diet, vegan eating

February 24, 6:40 PM

by Mila Lowery, Baltimore Healthy Living Examiner

The latest diet generating buzz is the Engine 2 Diet created by Texas firefighter Rip Esselstyn. Determined to get his co-workers into better shape, Esselstyn created this diet plan to help them lower their cholesterol levels and lose weight. Everyone who participated was successful; one person’s cholesterol went from 344 to 196.

Impressive? Sure. But is it groundbreaking? Not really. This diet is essentially the vegan way of eating, just repackaged with a firefighter angle. Veganism is nothing new. It’s been around for quite a while — since 1944, in fact.

It’s no secret that plant-based foods are healthy and can help you lose weight and lower cholesterol levels. But can the average person stick with this diet plan in the long term?

The diet challenges you to try it for 28 days. For people who already embrace the vegan lifestyle, this diet would be a piece of (vegan) cake because they are already used to this way of eating. Diligent dieters, too, will likely be able to stick with it for 28 days, which isn’t such a long time in the grand scheme of things.

But then what? If you are truly ready to embrace the idea of eating only plant-based foods for the rest of your life (sans even olive oil), this book would be a good start. However, if you’re just looking for a quick way to lose the pounds (as the vast majority of dieters are) it’s likely you’ll grow tired of the plan’s  restrictions and soon be on your way to the next diet book you see. In  a few years, this book will likely end up in the bargain bin at the bookstore for $1. Such is the vicious cycle of dieting, and it’s what keeps the diet book industry humming along.

What do you think? Do you plan to try this diet? Leave a comment or send me an e-mail at healthylivingexaminer@gmail.com.

Technorati Tags: eating vegan, vegan, vegan lifestyle, veganism