{"id":350,"date":"2022-09-18T12:12:53","date_gmt":"2022-09-18T12:12:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theclimatebook.org\/?page_id=350"},"modified":"2022-11-01T12:58:57","modified_gmt":"2022-11-01T12:58:57","slug":"5-5-changing-our-diets","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/theclimatebook.org\/en-us\/endnotes\/what-we-must-do-now\/5-5-changing-our-diets\/","title":{"rendered":"5.5 Changing Our Diets"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Gideon Eshel<\/a><\/p>\n

All online sources accessed on

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  1. \n

    \na spell of hot, muggy weather<\/q> National Centers for Environmental Information, \u2018November 2021 National Climate Report\u2019<\/cite>, 2021, https:\/\/www.ncei.noaa.gov\/access\/monitoring\/monthly-report\/national\/202111<\/a>; Cappucci, M., and Samenow, J., \u2018Fall on hold: forecasters predict long-lasting warm temperatures in eastern U.S.\u2019<\/cite>, Washington Post<\/span>, 6 October 2021, https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/weather\/2021\/10\/05\/warm-fall-weather-eastern-us\/<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

    \nEarth\u2019s atmospheric CO2<\/sub> concentration will be 2\u20133 parts per million \u2026 higher<\/q> Global Monitoring Laboratory, \u2018Archived data\u2019<\/cite>, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2021, https:\/\/gml.noaa.gov\/dv\/iadv\/graph.php?code=MLO&program=ccgg&type=ts<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

    \nwarming Earth\u2019s surface by about 0.01\u00b0\u20130.04\u00b0C<\/q> Zelinka, M. D., et al., \u2018Causes of higher climate sensitivity in CMIP6 models\u2019<\/cite>, Geophysical Research Letters<\/span>, 47 (1), 2020: Article e2019GL085782, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1029\/2019GL085782<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

    \njust under a billion kilograms of nitrogen \u2026 into the Gulf of Mexico<\/q> Tian, H., et al., \u2018Long-term trajectory of nitrogen loading and delivery from Mississippi River Basin to the Gulf of Mexico,\u2019<\/cite>, Global Biogeochemical Cycles<\/span>, 34 (5), 2020: Article e2019GB006475, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1029\/2019GB006475<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

    \nrobbed seawater of dissolved oxygen<\/q> Gruber, N., and Galloway, J. N., \u2018An Earth-system perspective of the global nitrogen cycle\u2019<\/cite>, Nature<\/span>, 451 (7176), 2008: 293\u20136, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/nature06592<\/a>; Doering, O. C., et al., Reactive Nitrogen in the United States: An Analysis of Inputs, Flows, Consequences and Management Options. A Report of the EPA Science Advisory Board<\/span><\/cite>, United States Environmental Protection Agency, August 2011, https:\/\/nepis.epa.gov\/Exe\/ZyPURL.cgi?Dockey=P100DD0K.txt<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

    \nthis process pits Midwestern commodity farmers<\/q> Purcell, K. M., et al., \u2018Fleet behavior is responsive to a large-scale environmental disturbance: hypoxia effects on the spatial dynamics of the northern Gulf of Mexico shrimp fishery\u2019<\/cite>, PLOS One<\/span>, 12 (8), 2017: Article e0183032, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0183032<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

    \ncroplands lose soil two to five times faster<\/q> Nearing, M. A., et al., \u2018Natural and anthropogenic rates of soil erosion\u2019<\/cite>, International Soil and Water Conservation Research<\/span>, 5 (2), 2017: 77\u201384, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.iswcr.2017.04.001<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

    \nEarth\u2019s roughly 1.9 billion hectares of cropland<\/q> Phalke, A. R., et al., \u2018Mapping croplands of Europe, Middle East, Russia, and Central Asia using Landsat, Random Forest, and Google Earth Engine\u2019<\/cite>, ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing<\/span>, 167, 2020: 104\u201322, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.isprsjprs.2020.06.022<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

    \n10\u201320 trillion kilograms of topsoil<\/q> Montanarella, L., et al., \u2018World\u2019s soils are under threat\u2019<\/cite>, SOIL<\/span>, 2 (1), 2016: 79\u201382, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.5194\/soil-2-79-2016<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

    \nat least several animal species \u2026 their final adieu<\/q> Rounsevell, M. D. A., et al., \u2018A biodiversity target based on species extinctions\u2019<\/cite>, Science<\/span>, 368 (6496), 2020: 1193\u20135, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1126\/science.aba6592<\/a>; Young, H. S., et al., \u2018Patterns, causes, and consequences of Anthropocene defaunation\u2019<\/cite>, Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics<\/span>, 47, 2016: 333\u201358, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1146\/annurev-ecolsys-112414-054142<\/a>; Ceballos, G., et al., \u2018Biological annihilation via the ongoing sixth mass extinction signaled by vertebrate population losses and declines\u2019<\/cite>, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences<\/span>, 114 (30), 2017: e6089\u2013e6096, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.1704949114<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

    \nmany others will arise from water pollution or shortages<\/q> Cardoso, P., et al., \u2018Scientists\u2019 warning to humanity on insect extinctions\u2019<\/cite>, Biological Conservation<\/span>, 242, 2020: Article 108426, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.biocon.2020.108426<\/a>; Lund., J., et al., \u2018Lessons from California\u2019s 2012\u20132016 drought\u2019<\/cite>, Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management<\/span>, 144 (10), 2018: Article 04018067, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1061\/(ASCE)WR.1943-5452.0000984<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

    \nmyriad other environmental stressors<\/q> Maier, D. S., \u2018Should biodiversity and nature have to earn their keep? What it really means to bring environmental goods into the marketplace\u2019<\/cite>, Ambio<\/span>, 47 (4), 2018: 477\u201392, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007%2Fs13280-017-0996-5<\/a>; Turvey, S. T., and Crees, J. J., \u2018Extinction in the Anthropocene\u2019<\/cite>, Currents in Biology<\/span>, 29 (19), 2019: R982\u2013R986, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.cub.2019.07.040<\/a>; Yanosky, A., \u2018Paraguay\u2019s challenge of conserving natural habitats and biodiversity with global markets demanding for products\u2019<\/cite>, in Raven, P. H., et al., eds., Conservation Biology: Voices from the Tropics<\/span> (Chichester: Wiley Blackwell, 2013), 113\u201319, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/9781118679838.ch14<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

    \nthe above challenges are primarily driven by agriculture<\/q> Richter, B. D., et al., \u2018Water scarcity and fish imperilment driven by beef production\u2019<\/cite>, Nature Sustainability<\/span>, 3 (4), 2020: 319\u201328, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41893-020-0483-z<\/a>; Eshel, G., and Martin, P. A., \u2018Geophysics and nutritional science: toward a novel, unified paradigm\u2019<\/cite>, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition<\/span>, 89 (5), 2009: 1710S\u20131716S, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3945\/ajcn.2009.26736BB<\/a>; Bouwman, L., et al., \u2018Exploring global changes in nitrogen and phosphorus cycles in agriculture induced by livestock production over the 1900\u20132050 period\u2019<\/cite>, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences<\/span>, 110 (52), 2013: 20882\u20137, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.1012878108<\/a>; Eshel, G., et al., \u2018Land, irrigation water, greenhouse gas, and reactive nitrogen burdens of meat, eggs, and dairy production in the United States\u2019<\/cite>, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences<\/span>, 111 (33), 2014: 11996\u201312001, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.1402183111<\/a>; Eshel, G., et al., \u2018Partitioning United States\u2019 feed consumption among livestock categories for improved environmental cost assessments\u2019<\/cite>, Journal of Agricultural Sciences<\/span>, 153 (3), 2014: 432\u201345, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/S0021859614000690<\/a>; Eshel, G., \u2018How to prioritize voluntary dietary modification\u2019<\/cite>, Advances in Environmental and Engineering Research<\/span>, 1 (4), 2020: Article 005, http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.21926\/aeer.2004005<\/a>; Shepon, A., et al., \u2018Energy and protein feed-to-food conversion efficiencies in the US and potential food security gains from dietary changes\u2019<\/cite>, Environmental Research Letters<\/span>, 11 (10), 2016: Article 105002, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1088\/1748-9326\/11\/10\/105002<\/a>; Davis, K. F., et al., \u2018Meeting future food demand with current agricultural resources\u2019<\/cite>, Global Environmental Change<\/span>, 39, 2016: 125\u201332, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.gloenvcha.2016.05.004<\/a>; Liu, J., et al., \u2018Systems integration for global sustainability\u2019<\/cite>, Science<\/span>, 347 (6225), 2021: Article 1258832, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1126\/science.1258832<\/a>\n<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  2. \n

    \ntopsoil losses that jeopardize food supplies<\/q> DeLonge, M., and Stillerman, K. P., Eroding the Future: How Soil Loss Threatens Farming and Our Food Supply<\/span><\/cite>, Union of Concerned Scientists, December 2020, https:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/resrep28410<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

    \nwater pollution by eutrophication<\/q> Malone, T. C., and Newton, A., \u2018The globalization of cultural eutrophication in the coastal ocean: causes and consequences\u2019<\/cite>, Frontiers in Marine Science<\/span>, 7, 2020: Article 670, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fmars.2020.00670<\/a>; Li, Y., et al., \u2018The role of freshwater eutrophication in greenhouse gas emissions: a review\u2019<\/cite>, Science of the Total Environment<\/span>, 768, 2021: Article 144582, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.scitotenv.2020.144582<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

    \noverconsumption of scarce fresh-water resources<\/q> Gleick, P. H., and Cooley, H., \u2018Freshwater scarcity\u2019<\/cite>, Annual Review of Environmental Resources<\/span>, 46, 2021: 319\u201348, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1146\/annurev-environ-012220-101319<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

    \nindividual diets partly reflect governmental policies<\/q> Nestle, M., Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health<\/span><\/cite> (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2007); Gressier, M., et al., \u2018Healthy foods and healthy diets: how government policies can steer food reformulation\u2019<\/cite>, Nutrients<\/span>, 12 (7), 2020: Article 1992, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390%2Fnu12071992<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

    \nlet\u2019s imagine eating a burger as our yardstick<\/q> Poore, J., and Nemecek, T., \u2018Reducing food\u2019s environmental impacts through producers and consumers\u2019<\/cite>, Science<\/span>, 360 (6392), 2018: 987\u201392, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1126\/science.aaq0216<\/a>; Pelletier, N., et al., \u2018Comparative life cycle environmental impacts of three beef production strategies in the Upper Midwestern United States\u2019<\/cite>, Agricultural Systems<\/span>, 103 (6), 2010: 380\u201389, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.agsy.2010.03.009<\/a>; Eshel et al., \u2018Land, irrigation water\u2019<\/cite>; Eshel et al., \u2018Partitioning United States\u2019 feed consumption\u2019<\/cite>.\n<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  3. \n

    \nThis dietary transition also confers significant nutritional benefits<\/q> Pan, A., et al., \u2018Red meat consumption and mortality: results from 2 prospective cohort studies\u2019<\/cite>, Archives of Internal Medicine<\/span>, 172 (7), 2012: 555\u201363, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1001\/archinternmed.2011.2287<\/a>; Abete, I., et al., \u2018Association between total, processed, red and white meat consumption and all-cause, CVD and IHD mortality: a meta-analysis of cohort studies\u2019<\/cite>, British Journal of Nutrition<\/span>, 112 (5), 2014: 762\u201375, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/S000711451400124X<\/a>; Jahn, J. L., et al., \u2018Food, health and the environment: a global grand challenge and some solutions\u2019<\/cite>, Daedalus<\/span>, 144 (4), 2015: 31\u201344, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1162\/DAED_a_00352<\/a>; Satija, A., et al., \u2018Plant-based dietary patterns and incidence of type 2 diabetes in US men and women: results from three prospective cohort studies\u2019<\/cite>, PLOS Medicine<\/span>, 13 (6), 2016: Article e1002039, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pmed.1002039<\/a>; Springmann, M., et al., \u2018Options for keeping the food system within environmental limits\u2019<\/cite>, Nature<\/span>, 562 (7728), 2018: 519\u201325, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41586-018-0594-0<\/a>; Heller, M. C., Keoleian, G. A., and Willett, W. C., \u2018Toward a life cycle-based, diet-level framework for food environmental impact and nutritional quality assessment: a critical review\u2019<\/cite>, Environmental Science and Technology<\/span>, 47 (22), 2013: 12632\u201347, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1021\/es4025113<\/a>; Willett, W., et al., \u2018Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT\u2013Lancet commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems\u2019<\/cite>, Lancet<\/span>, 393 (10170), 2019: 447\u201392, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/S0140-6736(18)31788-4<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

    \nabout 350 million metric tonnes CO2<\/sub>eq per year<\/q> Eshel, G., et al., \u2018Environmentally optimal, nutritionally sound, protein and energy conserving plant based alternatives to U.S. meat\u2019<\/cite>, Scientific Reports<\/span>, 9, 2019: Article 10345, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41598-019-46590-1<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

    \nover 90 per cent of the full emissions of the entire US residential sector<\/q> United States Environmental Protection Agency, Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990\u20132019<\/span><\/cite>, April 2021, https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/ghgemissions\/inventory-us-greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-sinks-1990-2019<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Gideon Eshel All online sources accessed on 28 February 2022 a spell of hot, muggy weather National Centers for Environmental Information, \u2018November 2021 National Climate Report\u2019, 2021, https:\/\/www.ncei.noaa.gov\/access\/monitoring\/monthly-report\/national\/202111; Cappucci, M., and Samenow, J., \u2018Fall on hold: forecasters predict long-lasting warm temperatures in eastern U.S.\u2019, Washington Post, 6 October 2021, https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/weather\/2021\/10\/05\/warm-fall-weather-eastern-us\/. Earth\u2019s atmospheric CO2 concentration will…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"parent":150,"menu_order":5,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-essay.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-350","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theclimatebook.org\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theclimatebook.org\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theclimatebook.org\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theclimatebook.org\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theclimatebook.org\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=350"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theclimatebook.org\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/350\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theclimatebook.org\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theclimatebook.org\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}