Plant-based diets + rewilding provides “massive opportunity” to cut CO2

Enlarge / We’d like to replace you with a forest. (credit: Peter Cade )

By shifting to more plant-rich diets, wealthy nations could cut their agricultural emissions by 61 percent— and sequester nearly 100 gigatons of CO ₂ equivalent if the surplus farmland is left to rewild.

The global food system is the second-biggest source of anthropogenic greenhouse gases (GHGs), accounting for up to a third of emissions. Over half of that number comes from meat and dairy production, despite these sources providing a meager 20 percent associated with the world’s calories. Wealthy nations drive most of this demand.

A recent study calculated the carbon-saving potential regarding having these wealthy countries shift away from meat and dairy products in a way that would create what the study authors call a double dividend. “Our double dividend means if we change animal-based diets to plant-based diets, we can reduce GHG emissions (dividend one) from direct agricultural production, ” explains lead author Dr. Zhongxiao Sun. “The saved agricultural land from diet change can be restored to potential natural vegetation for carbon sequestration (dividend two). ”