The global and regional air quality impacts of dietary change

Air pollution increases cardiovascular and respiratory-disease risk, and reduces cognitive and physical performance. Food production, especially of animal products, is a major source of methane and ammonia emissions which contribute to air pollution through the formation of particulate matter and ground-level ozone. Here we show that dietary changes towards more plant-based flexitarian, vegetarian, and vegan diets could lead to meaningful reductions in air pollution with health and economic benefits. Using systems models, we estimated reductions in premature mortality of 108,000-236,000 (3-6%) globally, including 20,000-44,000 (9-21%) in Europe, 14,000-21,000 (12-18%) in North America, and 49,000-121,000 (4-10%) in Eastern Asia. We also estimated greater productivity, increasing economic output by USD 0.6-1.3 trillion (0.5-1.1%). Our findings suggest that incentivising dietary changes towards more plant-based diets could be a valuable mitigation strategy for reducing ambient air pollution and the associated health and economic impacts, especially in regions with intensive agriculture and high population density.

SPRINGMANN Marco;  VAN DINGENEN Rita;  VANDYCK Toon;  LATKA Catharina;  WITZKE Heinz Peter;  LEIP A; 

2023-10-25

NATURE PORTFOLIO

JRC128682

2041-1723 (online),   

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-41789-3,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC128682,   

10.1038/s41467-023-41789-3 (online),