Pace of adoption of alternatives to animal-source foods is an important factor in reaching climate goals

Galina Hale, Vlad Oncescu and Ritesh Bhangale

Santa Cruz Department of Economics, Working Paper Series from Department of Economics, UC Santa Cruz

Abstract: The global food system is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change. Animal agriculture accounts for a large share of food-system emissions, both directly and through the production of animal feed. Global population growth and rising incomes imply a further increase in demand for animal-source foods if current trends persist. Limiting global warming to the targets set by the international community will not be possible without the rapid reduction of a substantial share of animal-source foods. We show that the rapid adoption of alternatives to animal-source foods, such as plant-only diets or plant-based, cultured, or fermentation-derived analogs to animal products, can be consistent with climate goals while satisfying global demand for calories and protein. Importantly, timing is crucial: the longer the delay in adopting alternatives, the larger the share of the diet that must shift away from animal-source food by 2050 for the food system to remain within its carbon budget.

Keywords: Agricultural; Veterinary and Food Sciences; Environmental Management; Environmental Sciences; Cardiovascular; Oral and gastrointestinal; Climate Action; Zero Hunger; Animal Feed; Animals; Climate Change; Food Supply; Humans; Global Warming; Diet; Climate change; Food system sustainability; Dietary change; Alternative proteins; Plant-based products; Cultured products (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-01-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr
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