

What can other nations do?įollow the guidance of the United Nations and the World Health Organization.
#Meat production free
The Physicians Committee has free continuing medical education courses available to health care professionals and anyone else who wants to learn more: Eating as if the World Depends On It, Eating for the Planet: The Environmental Impacts of Dietary Choices, and Food, Health, and Environment: A Potential Pathway to a Double Win. These projections also saw trillions of dollars saved in health care costs by 2050. Estimates for a completely vegan diet project closer to 129 million lives saved and 8.1 million deaths avoided. A global dietary shift would save an estimated 79 million human lives and avoid 5.1 million deaths per year. The report states that projections for the future show that “vegan and vegetarian diets were associated with the greatest reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions.”Īnother study found that a global shift to a plant-based diet could reduce mortality and greenhouse gases caused by food production by 10% and 70%, respectively, by 2050. The researchers found that food production is responsible for up to 30% of total greenhouse gas emissions, with animal products accounting for the vast majority-about three-quarters-of these effects. How can it inform the public of the dangers of meat and dairy-to both humans and the climate-while also trying to get the public to buy more meat and dairy? What does the evidence show about the benefits of a plant-based diet for the environment and human health?Ī study published in The Lancet in 2019 concluded that a dietary shift toward plant foods and away from animal products is vital for promoting human health and the health of our planet. It was later asked to create nutrition guidance. The USDA was created to support the nation’s agricultural interests. Department of Agriculture is the federal agency where agriculture, nutrition programs, and the environment intersect.

The White House's executive order establishes a National Climate Task Force, and the Secretary of Agriculture is one of its members. Why are the actions that the petition requests directed to the Secretary of Agriculture? These steps would help the nation fight obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and other diet-related chronic diseases.Įvidence shows that these same steps would also help fight the global climate crisis, so it seemed like a glaring omission for the executive order to leave out policy changes that could help alleviate the climate crisis by cutting animal agriculture and promoting a plant-based diet. Why did the Physicians Committee file the petition?įor years, the Physicians Committee has urged the federal government to shift subsidies for meat and dairy products to fruits and vegetables, promote plant-based diets in the Dietary Guidelines, and include more plant-based options in the National School Lunch Program.
