Eat Less Meat and More Plant-Based Food

Help improve the lives of farmed animals. Reduce the amount of cruelly-produced meat you eat today.

A great way to continue helping farmed animals daily is to eat more plant foods and fewer animal proteins. The immense scale at which we are producing and consuming meat today has negative implications on our health and the planet.

By increasing the demand for plant-based foods we can, in turn, reduce reliance on farmed animals and make higher welfare production systems—with more space, fewer antibiotics, healthier growth, and more natural environments—more feasible. We can also reduce the role of our food system in climate change and public health crises.

Environment and Climate Change

The earth lost half its wildlife since 1970 but tripled its livestock population. The global food system is the biggest driver of the destruction of the natural world, and a shift to predominantly plant-based diets is crucial in halting the damage.

The current intensive farming system is a hurdle towards better ecosystems and rich biodiversity. Animal farming occupies almost 80 per cent of agricultural land globally. Farm animals account for 60 per cent of all mammals by mass.

Treatment of farm animals is the world’s biggest animal welfare issue – and it’s getting bigger due to factory farming. By 2050, livestock production will be twice what it was in 2000. It's time to EAT LESS MEAT!

Pledge to eat less meat and more plant-based food in your diet. You can do it!

Right now, more than 70 billion animals are farmed for food each year – two-thirds in conditions that mean they can’t move freely or live naturally. Do you pledge to eat less meat and more plant-based food in your diet for a better you, better animals and a better planet?

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We need a Plant-Based Diet

The Chatham House(1) report suggests protecting the global biodiversity and reducing the risk of further pandemics; a predominantly plant-based diet is needed. “Indirectly, the food system also drives biodiversity loss through its contribution to climate change. The global food system is responsible for more greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than any other aspect of our lives”, the report states.

Jane Goodall, the renowned conservationist, said the intensive farming of billions of animals seriously damaged the environment, and inhumanely crowded conditions risked new pandemic diseases crossing into people: “It should be phased out as soon as possible.”

Health and Food Habits

From political unrest to a global pandemic, 2020 has proved to be a year where institutions and social norms were challenged. Considering the recent pandemic of Covid-19, today, people are becoming more health-conscious, bringing a change in their food habits. They frequently visit gyms, seek advice from nutritionists and take better care of their health. The changing demands from currently changing food habits are giving a new direction towards sustainable businesses.

Food-borne illnesses — spread by the way livestock is processed, manufactured and distributed — create a critical public health issue worldwide. When we think of healthy eating, the first food items that often come to mind are fruits and vegetables – colourful, vitamin-, mineral- and fibre-rich; they are vital for the proper functioning of the human body. The benefits of consuming fruits and vegetables as part of a nutritious diet are vast. Eating a plant-based diet for over 20 years may add 3.5 years to your life.

Studies show that people who eat more meals rich in vegetables and plant proteins like beans and lentils reduce their risk for heart disease and cancer — living longer, healthier lives than those with meat-heavy diets. While on the other hand, excess saturated fat – which predominantly comes from animal foods – will increase your risk of dying of heart disease, according to leading cardiologists2. Eating too much meat and animal products is contributing to obesity and other chronic diseases as well.

Better Life for Farm Animals

Meat is making us sick. The ongoing cruel cycle can be modified by choosing wisely and rethink our Food Systems. Demand for cheap meat is fuelling the fire, causing mass suffering to farmed animals, impacting the environment and endangering people’s health. By ending factory farming and moving to humane and sustainable proteins, we can achieve food security and feed the world without factory farming. This means producing and consuming mostly plant-based foods, fewer animal products, and ensuring remaining farm animals live good lives.

Buying meat that has been produced in an inhumane way is not ok. It's better to eat a lot of vegetables than eating cheap meat produced with irresponsible use of antibiotics or other ways. The image shows small chicks on a conveyor. Ready for their different levels of suffering.

Currently, more than 70 billion animals are farmed for food each year – two-thirds in conditions that mean they can’t move freely or live naturally.

Irresponsible use or overuse of antibiotics are frequently associated with low welfare systems and pose an increased global risk to animal and human health.

Hence, eating less meat and moving towards more plant-based food is an all-rounder solution, benefitting our people, animals, and environment. Our future depends on us rethinking how we treat all animals. We must all urgently work together to transform the global food system and end cruel factory farming. Let’s do it for animals, for people and for our planet.