World Environment Day has been celebrated annually on 5 June since 1973 as a platform for raising awareness on environmental issues such as pollution, overpopulation, global warming, the food system, and sustainable development. As the primary United Nations outreach day supporting the environment it encourages awareness, encouragement and reform to governments, businesses and individuals looking to lower their impact on nature. 

The theme for 2024 is “Land restoration, desertification and drought resilience” whereby it is essential to reflect on the impact of our daily choices on the health of our planet. One of the most significant contributors to environmental degradation and deforestation is the food industry, particularly animal agriculture.

Global warming, along with land- and water use, resource waste, biodiversity loss are just a few of the global problems we are currently facing. These problems are exacerbated by a growing global population and a corresponding increase in demand for animal-based products, lending a sense of urgency to our need for dietary change. 

The current climate crisis is a massive threat to food security, water availability, and biodiversity, worldwide, as well as a major cause of environmental disasters. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), our food system is responsible for up to a third of global greenhouse gas emissions. Animal agriculture accounts for about 20% of global emissions. The goals set in the Paris Agreement in 2015 will not be possible if current food-consumption behaviours are maintained, even if current fossil fuel emissions are completely halted.

Scientific research, along with organisations such as the IPCC, agree that a shift towards more plant-based diets can reduce food-related greenhouse gas emissions significantly.  On an individual level, shifting to a plant-based diet has the potential to reduce one’s personal food related greenhouse gas emissions by up to 50%. On a global scale, if everyone adopted a plant-based diet, global food-related emissions could be reduced by up to 70% by 2050, compared to a scenario in which current dietary practices are maintained.

The world is in the midst of a water crisis. Water scarcity already affects more than 40% of the global population. Globally, agriculture is the biggest consumer of freshwater, using 70% of freshwater for the irrigation of fields and for rearing farmed animals on land and in aquaculture farms. Growing feed crops is responsible for 20% of global freshwater expenditure.

When talking about water use, we often refer to the ‘water footprint’, which indicates how much water is needed for the production of certain goods. The water footprint is a combination of the freshwater (blue water) used directly for production that comes from groundwater and surface waters, and water from precipitation (green water) that is stored in the soil and is potentially available for plants. The amount of water in different categories depends on the specific product and can vary from region to region. In terms of a water footprint, the production of a 150-gram beef burger requires an astonishing 2,350 litres of water, while a comparable soya-based burger needs only about 158 litres. The water embodied in 1 kg of beef is the combination of the water used to grow the feed, the water a cow needs to drink, and the water required for cleaning purposes.

Going further, on an individual level, you could potentially reduce your water footprint by up to 55% by moving to a more plant-based diet. This could represent a total reduction of between 1,200 and 2,000 litres of water each day, however, this depends on what is eaten and where it was produced.

About half of the world’s habitable area is used for agriculture. Of this, 80% is used for producing animal-based products (which also contributes to up to 60% of food emissions), although they only provide about 18% of our calories. Most of this land is used as pasture, while the remainder, which comprises large areas of cropland that could potentially be used to grow crops for direct human consumption, is used to grow feed crops. According to the Food and Agriculture Association (FAO), about a third of global cropland is used for feed crops and while this global average is already very high, countries with a high share of animal protein in their diets use even more cropland. 

Industrial animal husbandry uses larger amounts of protein that could be used for direct human consumption.33 In the US, replacing meat with plant alternatives could reduce the need for cropland and nitrogen-fertiliser use by 35-50%, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to a similar extent.34 Another example from the US showed that an increase in plant-based diets could feed twice the country’s population. On a global level, we would be able to feed about 10 billion people by reducing the amount of animal protein in our diets.

Biodiversity is crucial to the functioning of ecosystems and is necessary for healthy soils, water regulation, carbon storage, food production, pollination, and healthy wildlife populations. Yet the majority of the food we consume comes from only a small number of species, and the ways in which we produce our food places further pressure on biodiversity.

We have entered the era of sixth mass extinction. About 25% of all species currently face extinction, many of them within decades. Agriculture is one of the main reasons for this huge decline in biodiversity, as we are changing the surface of this planet within such a short period of time that it renders nearly any adaptation by wild species impossible.

The world’s forests are home to over 80% of terrestrial plants and animals, yet nearly 70% of cleared lands in the Amazon are used as cattle pastures. Deforestation could be reduced by up to 55% if animal consumption was reduced. Many terrestrial vertebrates will lose their habitats to agricultural expansion by 2050 if current dietary patterns and agricultural practices are maintained. In order to prevent these losses, it is important to eat less meat and animal-based products, reduce food waste, sustainably increase crop yields, and implement international land-use planning.

By reducing your consumption of meat, dairy products, fish, and eggs, and shifting to a more plant-based diet, you can directly contribute to helping solve many of our global problems. As we celebrate World Environment Day, let us consider the profound impact of our food choices on the health of the planet and its inhabitants. Embracing a plant-based diet offers a powerful solution to some of the most pressing environmental, health, and ethical challenges we face today. 

Media Contact

ProVeg South Africa - Wikus Engelbrecht - Communications Manager: wikus.engelbrecht@proveg.org; +27 64 172 0120

About ProVeg South Africa:

ProVeg South Africa is the local branch of ProVeg International. ProVeg is an international food awareness organisation working to transform the global food system by replacing conventional animal-based products with plant-based and cultured alternatives.

ProVeg works with international decision-making bodies, governments, food producers, investors, the media, and the general public to help the world transition to a society and economy that are less dependent on animal agriculture and more sustainable for humans, animals, and the planet.