Eating less meat and dairy products in favor of plant-based proteins like those found in grains, legumes and nuts could make a huge difference in how much carbon dioxide reaches the atmosphere, research by Oregon State University shows.
Eating less meat and dairy products in favor of plant-based proteins like those found in grains, legumes and nuts could make a huge difference in how much carbon dioxide reaches the atmosphere, research by Oregon State University shows.
Published Monday in Nature Sustainability, the findings by OSU’s William Ripple and collaborators at New York University, Colorado State University and Harvard University detail how agricultural land devoted to producing animal-sourced food puts the squeeze on forests and other native vegetation well suited to absorbing CO2.
“Plant protein foods provide important nutrients while requiring a small percentage of the farm and ranch land needed to generate animal products like beef, pork and milk,” said Ripple, distinguished professor of ecology in the Oregon State College of Forestry.
Via photosynthesis, trees and other vegetation generate energy from sunlight, water and carbon dioxide, in the process storing some of the carbon in the form of wood and foliage and releasing oxygen.
Read more at Oregon State University
Photo Credit: Pawel_Litwin via Pixabay
