The hidden costs of a vegan diet – BBC REEL

during the last few years we've seen an unprecedented boom in the number of vegan-friendly products veganism has truly taken off as a lifestyle Choice as much as a diet especially in Europe and the United States although some communities have been familiar with the concept for centuries even giant fast food chains like McDonald's and KFC now offer meatless versions of popular menu items one report predicts that by the year 2040 as much as 60 percent of meat eaten globally will be created in Labs or made from plant-based products sounds great we can be pretty sure that eating vegan is better for sustainability as well as being a convenient option for people who have compassion for animals but are we ready to make such a radical transition on a grand scale and could there be any hidden costs socially economically and environmentally to eating more of certain plants the first thing to think about is carbon emissions livestock farming especially beef has a high carbon footprint animals release methane with digestion and need huge amounts of land and feed causing deforestation as well as emissions from the production of what they eat but there are plenty of plants which also make a significant impact in different ways transporting fruit and vegetables by air generates major emissions for example importing Peruvian asparagus and South African grapes to Europe or North America they're made in Hackney organization from East London aims to tackle this issue by teaching people how to grow their own food and cook with local seasonal ingredients one of the things we try and do is make people aware of the produce that we're using and introducing them to things that they might be less familiar with we have to focus on produce that is seasonal and local and ideally organic so all of that will contribute to a more sustainable plate we know that of course a lot of people will be shopping in supermarkets where there is food flown in from all around the world and it's about having that awareness of seeing where the food's coming from checking the labels and we really believe that that is Central to having a more sustainable diet other products with a high carbon count include mushrooms which require a lot of energy to keep them warm then you have cocoa a cause of considerable deforestation and nuts which are some of the most water intensive crops on the planet the wildly popular avocado also uses huge amounts of water and with its rapid ripening cycle planes are needed to make sure they reach us in time as well as the emissions from Transportation another key factor to consider is pollution caused by nitrogen-based fertilizers the development of fertilizer has been incredibly positive for human health because it's enabled us to feed a lot more people than we otherwise would have been able to do but in some countries that cycle has gone completely the other way and you end up with a lot of pollution because we put nitrogen fertilizers onto the soil and then those nutrients are going to waste at the end so they are leaching into the water supply they're going into the air in the form of ammonia and that's creating air pollution it leads to stripping the soil of its nutrients whereas what we could be doing is using the nutrients that are already in the system a little bit more efficiently rather than having to add them from the outside all the time in world cities like London or Los Angeles the idea of removing meat from our lives feels increasingly feasible a number of companies have developed plant-based burgers that bleed with liquids made from vegetables and legumes others use animal cells to grow cultivated meat in labs and some firms have invented steaks made with a 3D printing process but what about parts of the world which don't have that kind of innovative technology at their disposal yet in many African and Asian countries for example meat is a fundamental aspect of life on multiple levels as well as being a crucial dietary element livestock production employs millions of people small-scale farmers use their animals as a safety net against crop failures which are becoming increasingly likely due to climate change livestock ownership can also help improve gender equality in patriarchal societies while meat eggs and milk are a vital source of nutrition somewhere between a billion and two billion people around the world uh depend in one way or the other on livestock to sustain part of their livelihoods it is inconceivable to think of removing livestock because removing livestock from their livelihoods and from their lives of Maine removing a really important source of food removing a really important source of income a really important financial asset which they can rely upon in times of emergency it would mean removing something that provides them fertilization for their crops it's also got a cultural and social function so you're not just removing one thing you're removing a whole spectrum of services and values that livestock provide and that cannot be easily plugged or replaced with something else so it feels like predictions about Mass veganism on the horizon may be a little premature it's an option that those of us who live in more highly developed countries are fortunate enough to have a recent study in the UK indicated that plant-based diets are 40 cheaper than Meat and Fish although some brands or products may not be affordable for All Families experts say there is a health distinction between organic and Factory farmed meat which is important to remember meat has been the focus of this video but let's not forget that Dairy is also a crucial part of cuisine in many cultures eating more plants is a powerful tool for tackling climate change but experts suggest we also need to develop more sustainable livestock production models rather than simply cooling to eliminate it altogether we need to think about using the land the best way that we can but if we all eat less meat there's more land to do different things with so there would be land for grazing some livestock there would also be land for growing crops and there would be land for rewilding which would also improve our biodiversity so if people just eat a little bit less then we have more options meanwhile there's a regulatory Minefield of rules around the safety and labeling of cultivated meat with products expected to hit Supermarket shelves in 2023 how do synthetic hamburgers compare to the real deal and will people be open to trying them we'll leave that one up to you to decide

Channel: BBC Global

Views: 51,941

Keywords: bbc, bbcreel, bbcnews, factual, features

Id: a2yzdpZKc4Y

Length: 7min 24sec (444 seconds)

Published: Fri Nov 04 2022