Plant-based diets are even better for the planet than we realized

For a growing number of people, choosing a diet isn’t just about taste or tradition – it’s about impact.

Whether it’s for health, animals, or the environment, more people are giving plant-based eating a serious look. And new research spells out exactly why those choices matter.

Veganism isn’t mainstream yet, but it’s on the rise. Right now, about 1.1% of the world’s population follows a vegan diet.

In Germany, the number of vegans doubled between 2016 and 2020. In the UK, it grew 2.4 times between 2023 and 2025.

Some people switch for personal health. Others want to lighten their environmental load. Now, researchers have put hard numbers to those environmental benefits.

Breaking down the diets

The research team designed four full weekly menus, each delivering 2,000 calories a day, while keeping nutrition consistent to compare environmental impact.

One menu was a typical healthy Mediterranean diet – lots of fruits, veggies, grains, and moderate amounts of fish, poultry, and red meat.

The second menu kept fish but dropped other meats. The third was vegetarian, with eggs and dairy but no meat or fish. The last was fully vegan – no animal products at all.

The researchers looked at a wide range of factors: greenhouse gas emissions, water use, land use, pollution, and nutritional content.

They used public databases to analyze nutrients and ecosystem impact, making sure each menu met international health recommendations for vitamins and minerals for men and women between the ages of 30 and 70.

A diet shift that cuts emissions

Switching from the Mediterranean diet to the vegan diet cut daily carbon dioxide emissions by 46%. Land use dropped by 33%, while water use decreased by 7%.

Pollution tied to global warming and environmental toxicity also shrank. In other words, the more plants on your plate, the smaller your footprint.

“We compared diets with the same amount of calories and found that moving from a Mediterranean to a vegan diet generated 46% less CO2 while using 33% less land and 7% less water, and also lowered other pollutants linked to global warming.” said Dr. Noelia Rodriguez-Martín, a postdoctoral researcher now based at the University of Granada.

Plant-based diets hold up on nutrients

It’s not just about the planet. The study showed that all the plant-based diets – whether vegetarian or vegan – provided all the essential nutrients, with just a few needing extra attention.

“Our analyses showed that all three plant-based menus were nutritionally balanced, with only vitamin D, iodine and vitamin B12 needing a bit more attention,” said Dr. Rodriguez-Martín.

“Overall, the indicators clearly highlight the environmental and health advantages of plant-based diets compared with the omnivorous baseline.”

One key point: the study compared only healthy versions of each diet. In other words, this wasn’t a test of potato chips and soda.

Even the omnivorous menu was based on the Mediterranean style of eating, already considered one of the healthiest in the world.

Less meat, more gains

The environmental impact followed a clear pattern: the more plant-based the diet, the better the numbers looked.

“But in our four-way comparison – omnivorous, pesco-vegetarian, ovo-lacto-vegetarian and vegan – the pattern was clear: the more plant foods, the smaller the ecological footprint,” said Dr. Rodriguez-Martín.

“The pesco-vegetarian menu showed moderate gains, though fish production adds some environmental costs. Vegetarian diets also performed well, cutting carbon emissions by about 35%.”

Beyond the big three – CO2, land, and water – the vegan diet also scored over 50% better than the omnivorous one in other impact areas like ozone depletion and water pollution. In addition, disease risk dropped by more than 55%.

Every plant-based meal counts

“You don’t need to go fully vegan to make a difference. Even small steps toward a more plant-based diet reduce emissions and save resources,” noted Dr. Rodriguez-Martín.

“Every meal that includes more plants helps move us toward healthier people and a healthier planet.”

At the end of the day, it’s not about perfection – it’s about progress. Shifting what’s on your plate, even just a little, can ripple out in meaningful ways.

Whether you’re swapping meat once a week or rethinking your whole menu, those choices add up. And as more people take that first step, the collective impact grows.

The full study was published in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition.

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