Why plant-based eating won’t necessarily save the planet, but can improve your health.

We as consumers sometimes have no way of knowing how the foods we purchase impact the planet. Plants aren’t free from scrutiny either as they, too, can leave a carbon footprint.

So, honestly, what’s the point? Sure, if everyone on Earth limited their meat and dairy consumption we’d make a difference, but this isn’t reasonable thinking. We need to consider instead our individual health and the foods that contribute to our longevity. We’re going to die, so we can die happy and healthy, or in pain as our unhealthy habits catch up to us. I’d rather play the long game.

I think some health trends that have tricked us are the plant-based meat alternatives or PBMAs (not @ing Kim K here, but Beyond Meat is highly processed). From the Journal of the American Medical Association: “Long-term epidemiologic studies have also shown that this shift from red meat to plant foods is associated with lower risks of chronic diseases and total mortality. However, PBMAs incorporate purified plant protein rather than whole foods, with Beyond Burgers using pea protein isolate and Impossible Burgers using soy protein isolate and concentrate. A recent short-term controlled feeding study found that consuming diets high in ultra-processed food causes excess caloric intake and weight gain. Beyond the creation of calorically dense and highly palatable products, food processing can also lead to the loss of some nutrients and phytochemicals naturally present in plant foods.”

Also from the JAMA that I found so interesting… “Another line of products on the horizon is laboratory-grown (or cultured) meat, poultry, and fish, which uses cell-based technologies to culture and grow cells from animals, producing animal products without raising and slaughtering the animal. While all or some of these meat alternative technologies could represent a significant opportunity to reduce greenhouse gases that fuel climate change, they also may represent a major disruption in food systems, agriculture, and fisheries, which could have important public health, environmental, and regulatory implications.”

What exactly is a “good” plant-based diet then? “A healthy, plant-based diet aims to maximize consumption of nutrient-dense plant foods while minimizing processed foods, oils, and animal foods (including dairy products and eggs). It encourages lots of vegetables (cooked or raw), fruits, beans, peas, lentils, soybeans, seeds, and nuts (in smaller amounts) and is generally low fat…” according to the NCBI. Plant-based is also different from vegetarian and vegan diets, which mainly focus on what foods to restrict, and not what we should be eating for our health.

There is substantial research that plant-based diets reduce our risk of obesity, diabetes, heart-disease and high-blood pressure. As always, it’s important to evaluate claims made by corporations trying to market to our health consumerism. Additionally, everyone’s health is different, and consulting your doctor on what is best for YOU and your health is most important.