WRI released Shifting Diets for a Sustainable Food Future in April 2016, finding that for people who consume high amounts of meat and dairy, shifting to diets with a greater share of plant-based foods could significantly reduce agriculture’s pressure on the environment. Below, we respond to some queries about the methods and findings.
A disappointing experience in forest conservation laid the groundwork for marketing expert Daniel Vennard to lead WRI's Better Buying Lab. The initiative will bring together leading food service companies, manufacturers and restaurant chains to shift consumers towards more environmentally friendly plant-based proteins.
When people think about food and sustainability, they typically focus on how the food is produced—is it locally sourced, pasture-fed or organic? New WRI research shows that the question of what is eaten is just as important.
New WRI research shows that diets high in meat and dairy strain land and water resources and fuel climate change. Paper author Richard Waite explains how he cut his diet's environmental footprint in half, even without going vegetarian or vegan.
New WRI research finds that in order to help secure a sustainable food future, cropland expansion should be limited to lands with "low environmental opportunity costs."
Let's put it this way: If food loss and waste were its own country, it would be the world’s third-largest greenhouse gas emitter, exceeded only by China and the United States.
WRI responds to a critique of its working paper, Avoiding Bioenergy Competition for Food Crops and Land. The paper articulates reasons the world should avoid dedicating land to bioenergy production if it is to sustainably feed the global population in 2050.
A new WRI paper finds bioenergy can play a modest role using wastes and other niche fuelstocks, but recommends against dedicating land to produce bioenergy.
The lesson: do not grow food or grass crops for ethanol or diesel or cut down trees for electricity.