Image credit: Fig 3.2: EAT-Lancet Planetary Health Diet. One Blue Dot Eating patterns for health and environmental sustainability: A Reference Guide for Dietitians.
Dr. Shireem Kassam, Consultant Haematologist and founder of Plant-Based Health Professionals UK, shares the scientific evidence:
- A plant-based diet is associated with considerable health benefits, with significant reductions in cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, certain cancers and dementia.
- Co-benefits include reductions in the use of antibiotics in farming and consequently the risk of antimicrobial-resistant infections.
- 3 of 4 new and emerging infections with pandemic potential come from animals; the next pandemic is predicted to arise from industrialised animal farming, likely a bird flu.
- The best available evidence informs us that, without transitioning our food system away from animal agriculture, we cannot meet our climate and nature commitments and will not be able to limit global warming to below 1.5 °C or even 2 °C.
- Agriculture contributes at least a third of all greenhouse gas emissions and is the primary cause of biodiversity loss, threatening up to 90% of species with extinction’.
Wendy Corbett 