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Meat versus meat alternatives : which is better for the environment and health? A nutritional and environmental analysis of animal‐based products compared with their plant‐based alternatives
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Coffey, Alice, Lillywhite, Robert and Oyebode, Oyinlola (2023) Meat versus meat alternatives : which is better for the environment and health? A nutritional and environmental analysis of animal‐based products compared with their plant‐based alternatives. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, 36 (6). pp. 2147-2156. doi:10.1111/jhn.13219 ISSN 0952-3871.
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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/jhn.13219
Abstract
Background: Poor diets lead to negative health outcomes, including increased risk of noncommunicable diseases. Food systems, most notably agriculture, contribute to greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) that lead to climate change. Meat consumption plays a role in both health and environmental burden. Consumption of meat alternatives may reduce these harms. The aim was to compare meat products and their plant‐based alternatives on nutritional parameters, GHGE and price to examine if it is feasible and beneficial for policymakers and health professionals to recommend meat alternatives. Methods: Data on nutritional information and cost for 99 selected products were collected from five UK supermarkets. Estimates for GHGEs for 97 of these products were found through secondary articles. Median values for nutritional value, GHGE (kgCO2e) and price per 100 g were calculated to allow comparisons between meat products and their alternatives. Mann–Whitney U tests were used to look for significant differences for each nutrient, emissions and price. Results: Meat alternatives contained significantly more fibre and sugar and were significantly higher in price compared to the equivalent meat products. Meat alternatives had a significantly lower number of calories, saturated fat, protein and kgCO2e than meat products. There was no significant difference in the amount of salt between meat and meat alternatives. Conclusions: Overall, this paper found that meat alternatives are likely to be better for health according to most parameters, while also being more environmentally friendly, with lower GHGEs. However, the higher price of these products may be a barrier to switching to meat alternatives for the poorest in society.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||||
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Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor Q Science > QP Physiology R Medicine > RM Therapeutics. Pharmacology T Technology > TX Home economics |
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Divisions: | Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Science > Life Sciences (2010- ) Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Medicine > Warwick Medical School |
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SWORD Depositor: | Library Publications Router | ||||||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Meat -- Health aspects, Meat industry and trade -- Environmental aspects, Animal industry -- Environmental aspects, Natural foods industry, Food industry and trade -- Environmental aspects, Meat industry and trade -- Health aspects, Sustainable agriculture, Vegetarianism -- Health aspects, Meat -- Social aspects, Meat substitutes, Artificial foods, Vegetarian foods, Plant products industry, Meat -- Technological innovations, Greenhouse gases | ||||||||
Journal or Publication Title: | Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics | ||||||||
Publisher: | Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd. | ||||||||
ISSN: | 0952-3871 | ||||||||
Official Date: | December 2023 | ||||||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | 36 | ||||||||
Number: | 6 | ||||||||
Page Range: | pp. 2147-2156 | ||||||||
DOI: | 10.1111/jhn.13219 | ||||||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||||||
Access rights to Published version: | Open Access (Creative Commons) | ||||||||
Date of first compliant deposit: | 11 September 2023 | ||||||||
Date of first compliant Open Access: | 12 September 2023 |
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