Healthier diets could cut farmland emissions by 85%, study says

 

A global shift toward healthier diets, combined with more efficient farming and reduced food waste, could cut greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture-related land-use change by 85% by 2050, according to a study published last week in the journal Nature.

The analysis found that adopting healthier diets would reduce demand for livestock production, freeing up agricultural land and reshaping food production worldwide.

Global farmland could shrink by up to 6% compared with current trends, while the value of livestock production could fall by 42% from 2020 levels.

The value of fruit, vegetable, nut and legume production, meanwhile, could increase by 57%, reflecting a shift toward more plant-based foods, the study said.