Many people are willing to eat plant-based foods to save the climate

Each April, Earth Day invites us to reconsider our habits, choices, and responsibilities to the planet. While tree planting, cleanups, and protests receive the spotlight, one often-overlooked climate solution sits quietly on our dinner tables.

Our food choices, particularly the consumption of meat and dairy, contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. As climate change accelerates, shifting toward a plant-based diet could offer a practical and personal form of climate action.

A new survey released just ahead of Earth Day 2025 reinforces this message. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, in partnership with Morning Consult, surveyed over 2,000 American adults.

The results suggest a growing awareness of the climate-food link – but also highlight how much education and policy progress is still needed.

Plant-based food, climate, and health

Reducing meat intake can lower individual carbon footprints and boost personal health. That’s not just opinion – it’s the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) conclusion in its 2022 report, Mitigation of Climate Change. The IPCC highlights diet shifts as powerful climate tools.

“This Earth Day – and every day – people should eat a plant-based diet to keep themselves and the planet healthy,” said Roxanne Becker, MBChB, DipIBLM.

She recommends plant-based diets to patients to help prevent chronic diseases and lower emissions.

Awareness of food-related emissions

Despite increasing concern, 54% of Americans don’t know which foods cause the most greenhouse gases.

Only 16% correctly identified all five foods (beef, cheese, tofu, vegetables, nuts) in order of emissions. A quarter of respondents ranked tofu and nuts as more polluting than beef.

According to UN data, beef emits 70.6 kg CO₂e per kilogram of food (about 155.7 pounds CO₂e per 2.2 pounds). Cheese comes next at 23.9 kg (52.7 pounds CO₂e), followed by tofu at 3.2 kg (7 pounds), vegetables at 0.7 kg (1.5 pounds), and nuts at 0.4 kg (0.9 pounds).

Cows produce methane while digesting food, in a process called enteric fermentation. This gas escapes when they burp. Methane also forms when manure is stored in tanks or lagoons.

Though methane breaks down faster than CO₂, its warming effect is about 80 times stronger over 20 years. Experts call methane reduction a key climate goal.

Food policies and dietary guidelines

The survey revealed that 40% of Americans support taxing the meat and dairy industry to address emissions. A larger number – 59% – support incentives to help farmers shift from raising animals to growing crops and orchards.

Younger adults show stronger support for policy change. Fifty-six percent of Gen Z and 49% of Millennials say they would consider eating plant-based foods to help the climate.

Most people in the survey – about 60% – believe that the government should include the environmental impact of food in its national diet advice. Right now, the official Dietary Guidelines for Americans do not talk about climate change, pollution, or nature at all.

However, these same guidelines do mention a vegetarian diet option. This plant-based option avoids meat, chicken, and fish. Instead, it includes foods like beans, soy products, nuts, and seeds. Choosing this vegetarian plan instead of the usual one can cut your food-related emissions in half.

So, even though the guidelines don’t mention the environment, one of the options they mention is already better for the planet.

Plant-based food and climate action

Eating more plant-based meals helps in several important ways. First, it lowers greenhouse gas emissions, which helps slow down climate change. Producing meat, especially beef, creates a lot of pollution. In contrast, growing plants for food is much cleaner and uses less land and water.

But the benefits go beyond the environment. A plant-based diet can also make you healthier. It may lower your chances of getting diseases like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and even some types of cancer. That’s because plant-based foods are often lower in unhealthy fats and higher in fiber, vitamins, and nutrients.

Choosing more fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, beans, and soy products also supports a more sustainable food system. This means food can be produced in a way that uses fewer natural resources and causes less harm to animals and climate.

As Earth Day gets closer, it’s a great time to think about how our meals affect more than just our taste buds. Every food choice we make has an impact. What we eat not only shapes our health but also helps shape the future of the planet.

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