Infographic: Land Use & Meat Alternatives

Producing animal protein is one of the most energy intensive forms of agriculture on the planet; farming animals is responsible for 12% of global Greenhouse Gas emissions. This figure is likely to rise in the coming decades as more and more people around the world are consuming a diet rich in meat, dairy, and eggs.

Over the past 50 years, farming animals has resulted in massive land use changes. While advances in agricultural science and animal genetics may have marginally increased the efficiency of the “supply-side,” many people—including animal advocates—recognize that “demand-side measures” need to be included to meet climate targets.

A study from the Faunalytics database, the results of which we have turned into an infographic below, notes that “reducing meat consumption overall is likely to have the greatest effect on the land use footprint,” but also refers to this as a potentially “extreme” shift that is unlikely to happen. To that end, researchers looked at the efficiency of various different protein alternatives, and compared their land use to each other.